Nanotechnology Now – Press Release: Discoveries could lead to terahertz technology for quantum sensing: Properties of metal oxides can activate a wide range of photonic terahertz frequencies
Home > press > Discoveries could lead to terahertz technology for quantum sensing: Properties of metal oxides can activate a wide range of photonic terahertz frequencies
| Rui Xu, a Rice University materials science and nanoengineering student, is the lead author on a study showing strontium titanate has the potential to enable efficient photonic devices at frequencies from 3-19 terahertz. CREDIT (Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University) |
Abstract:
Visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the manipulation of light waves at frequencies beyond human vision has made technologies such as cell phones and CT scans possible.
Discoveries could lead to terahertz technology for quantum sensing: Properties of metal oxides could enable a photonic range of terahertz frequencies
Houston, Texas | Posted on July 21, 2023
Rice University researchers have plans to tap into previously unused portions of the spectrum.
“There is an important gap in mid and far infrared light, roughly 5-15 terahertz in frequency and wavelengths ranging from 20-60 micrometers, where there is no good commercial product compared to higher optical frequencies and lower radio frequencies,” said Rui Xu, third year doctoral student at Rice and lead author of the article published in Advanced Materials.
The research was conducted at the Emerging Quantum and Ultrafast Materials Laboratory with co-author Hanyu Zhu, William Marsh Rice Chair and assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering.
“Optical technology in this frequency region ⎯ is sometimes called the ‘new terahertz gap’ because it is much more difficult to access than other 0.3-30 terahertz ‘gaps’ ⎯ can be very useful for studying and developing quantum materials for quantum electronics closer to room temperature, as well as sensing functional groups in biomolecules for medical diagnosis,” said Zhu.
The challenge the researchers face is identifying the right materials to carry and process the light in the “new terahertz gap”. Such light strongly interacts with the atomic structure of most materials and is quickly absorbed by it. The Zhu group has turned the strong interaction to its advantage with strontium titanate, an oxide of strontium and titanium.
“The atoms coupled with terahertz light so strongly that they formed new particles called phonon-polaritons, which are confined to the surface of the material and are not lost within it,” Xu said.
Unlike other materials which support phonon-polaritons at higher frequencies and usually over a narrow range, strontium titanate acts over the entire 5-15 terahertz gap due to a property called quantum paraelectricity. Its atoms exhibit large quantum fluctuations and vibrate randomly, thus capturing light effectively without being trapped by the captured light themselves, even at zero degrees Kelvin.
“We proved the concept of a phonon-polariton strontium titanate device in the 7-13 terahertz frequency range by designing and manufacturing an ultrafast field concentrator,” said Xu. “The device squeezes light pulses into a volume that is smaller than the wavelength of light and maintains a short duration. In doing so, we achieve a strong transient electric field of nearly one gigavolt per meter.”
The electric field is so strong that it can be used to change the structure of materials to create new electronic properties, or to create new nonlinear optical responses from certain trace amounts of molecules that can be detected by a common optical microscope. Zhu said the design and fabrication methodology developed by his group is applicable to many commercially available materials and can enable photonic devices in the 3-19 terahertz range.
The paper’s other co-authors are Xiaotong Chen, a postdoctoral researcher in materials science and nanoengineering; Elizabeth Blackert and Tong Lin, doctoral students in materials science and nanoengineering; Jiaming Luo, third year doctoral student in applied physics; Alyssa Moon, now at Texas A&M University and previously enrolled at Rice in Nanotechnology Research Experience for Undergraduate Programs; and Khalil JeBailey, a senior in materials science and nanoengineering at Rice.
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (2005096, 1842494, 1757967) and the Welch Foundation (C-2128).
By Patrick Kurp, science writer for the George R. Brown School of Engineering
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