Electro-optic tuning of terahertz Yagi-Uda antenna arrays through liquid crystal reorientation

Ivan I. Yakovkin; Victor Yu. Reshetnyak; Timothy J. Bunning; Dean R. Evans

doi:10.1117/12.3017639

18 June 2024 Electro-optic tuning of terahertz Yagi-Uda antenna arrays through liquid crystal reorientation

Ivan I. Yakovkin, Victor Yu. Reshetnyak, Timothy J. Bunning, Dean R. Evans

Proceedings Volume 13016, Liquid Crystals Optics and Photonic Devices; 1301603 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3017639
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2024, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

This study examines the tuning capabilities in Yagi-Uda antenna arrays for terahertz frequencies through electro-optic modulation using nematic liquid crystals. The investigated structure consists of a periodic 2D array of Yagi-Uda antennas on a dielectric substrate. The substrate is covered below with a metallic ground plane, and further beneath is a vacuum layer. The space above the antenna array is filled with a nematic liquid crystal, which is bounded above by a glass substrate. Strong anchoring boundary conditions for the liquid crystal ensure an initial pi/2 twist configuration. The plane wave is normally incident on the Yagi-Uda antenna arrays while following the Mauguin regime. The application of an external electric field perpendicularly to the substrates reorients the liquid crystal director from its initial twisted state to a homeotropic state, resulting in the change of polarization of the light when it reaches the antenna array. The numeric simulations of the mentioned structure were conducted in COMSOL Multiphysics, and have shown that varying the applied voltage in the mentioned structure enables the tunability of the plasmonic resonances in the antenna array. The tunability frequency interval was found to span approximately 7 to 12THz, with the absorbance tuning range reaching 95% of the incident intensity. By leveraging the electro-optic properties of nematic liquid crystals, the research highlights a controlled method for tuning THz antenna arrays, presenting a solution for the advanced control of antenna properties in THz applications.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Ivan I. Yakovkin, Victor Yu. Reshetnyak, Timothy J. Bunning, and Dean R. Evans "Electro-optic tuning of terahertz Yagi-Uda antenna arrays through liquid crystal reorientation", Proc. SPIE 13016, Liquid Crystals Optics and Photonic Devices, 1301603 (18 June 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3017639

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