Electronic control of extraordinary terahertz transmission through subwavelength metal hole arrays

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates real-time electronic control of terahertz transmission through subwavelength metal hole arrays on doped semiconductor substrates, enabling significant modulation of terahertz signals with potential for broader optical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a hybrid metal-semiconductor device with a Schottky diode structure that actively modulates terahertz transmission via voltage-controlled substrate conductivity.

Findings

Achieved 52% intensity modulation depth at 16 volts

Demonstrated real-time control of terahertz transmission

Potential for extension to other optical frequencies

Abstract

We describe the electronic control of extraordinary terahertz transmission through subwavelength metal hole arrays fabricated on doped semiconductor substrates. The hybrid metal-semiconductor forms a Schottky diode structure, where the active depletion region modifies the substrate conductivity in real-time by applying an external voltage bias. This enables effective control of the resonance enhanced terahertz transmission. Our proof of principle device achieves an intensity modulation depth of 52% by changing the voltage bias between 0 and 16 volts. Further optimization may result in improvement of device performance and practical applications. This approach can be also translated to the other optical frequency ranges.