US EPA

2823006 

Journal Article 

Terahertz modulator based on insulator-metal transition in photonic crystal waveguide 

Fan, F; Hou, Y; Jiang, ZW; Wang, XH; Chang, SJ 

2012 

Yes 

Applied Optics
ISSN: 0003-6935
EISSN: 1539-4522 

51 

20 

4589-4596 

English 

22781233 

10.1364/AO.51.004589 

WOS:000306291100005 

A terahertz modulator based on the insulator-metal transition (IMT) in a photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) coated by vanadium dioxide (VO2) film is proposed. The numerical simulations show that a dielectric state and a metallic state with quite different photonic band structures and transmission properties in the proposed PCW are reciprocally converted because of the IMT of VO2, and the pass-bands of this PCW are greatly shifted from 0.68 to 0.8 and 1.02 to 1.25 THz to 0.8-1.45 THz. This PCW significantly enhances the modulation depth and sensitivity compared with bare VO2 film. Extensive investigation demonstrates that the thickness of VO2 film greatly affects the IMT process in the PCW, and limits the ultimate modulation depth of the device. The proposed modulation scheme will be of great significance for potential THz applications.