Terahertz metamaterials

Detector

Photomixing

Terahertz gap

Bandwidth (computing)

Materials science

Broadband

Telecommunications

Computer science

Photonics

Laser

Physics

Optics

Terahertz radiation

Terahertz spectroscopy and technology

Plasmon

Far-infrared laser

Optoelectronics

Nature Communications

Terahertz sources and detectors have enabled numerous new applications from medical to communications. Yet, most efficient terahertz detection schemes rely on complex free-space optics and typically require high-power lasers as local oscillators. Here, we demonstrate a fiber-coupled, monolithic plasmonic terahertz field detector on a silicon-photonics platform featuring a detection bandwidth of 2.5 THz with a 65 dB dynamical range. The terahertz wave is measured through its nonlinear mixing with an optical probe pulse with an average power of only 63 nW. The high efficiency of the scheme relies on the extreme confinement of the terahertz field to a small volume of 10 −8 ( λ THz /2) 3 . Additionally, on-chip guided plasmonic probe beams sample the terahertz signal efficiently in this volume. The approach results in an extremely short interaction length of only 5 μm, which eliminates the need for phase matching and shows the highest conversion efficiency per unit length up to date.

Compact and ultra-efficient broadband plasmonic terahertz field detector