Lijuan Xie

High-performance terahertz wave absorbers made of silicon-based metamaterials

Electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbers with high efficiency in different frequency bands have been extensively investigated for various applications. In this paper, we propose an ultra-broadband and polarization-insensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber based on a patterned lossy silicon substrate. Experimentally, a large absorption efficiency more than 95% in a frequency range of 0.9–2.5 THz was obtained up to a wave incident angle as large as 70°. Much broader absorption bandwidth and excellent oblique incidence absorption performance are numerically demonstrated. The underlying mechanisms due to the combination of a waveguide cavity mode and impedance-matched diffraction are analyzed in terms of the field patterns and the scattering features. The monolithic THz absorber proposed here may find important applications in EM energy harvesting systems such as THz barometer or biosensor.

Determination of tetracycline hydrochloride by terahertz spectroscopy with PLSR model

Antibiotic residues in agricultural and food products are of great concern to legislatures and consumers. Reliable techniques for rapid and sensitive detection of these residues are necessary to ensure food safety. In this study, tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) in powder and solution form was detected and quantified using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) was used to build calibration models. The results obtained in this study indicated that the PLSR model for powder samples was excellent and could be used for quality control. However, the PLSR model for solution samples was not robust and needed to be improved. Overall, THz spectroscopy combined with PLSR model had its potential for the rapid and non-destructive prediction of TC-HCl residue without sophisticated methods, although the accuracy was not high for solution samples which should be improved in future study.

A high-sensitivity terahertz spectroscopy technology for tetracycline hydrochloride detection using metamaterials

Antibiotic residues in animal-derived food due to their overuse in veterinary medicine will have potential adverse effects on human health. The rapid and accurate detection of these drugs is essential for ensuring human food safety. In particular, the current detection methods are usually limited by the low sensitivity or the tedious pre-treatment. Here we demonstrate that metamaterials operating at terahertz frequencies, acting as highly sensitive sensors, show promising potential for the detection of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). We were able to detect a trace amount of TCH, as small as 0.1mg/L, which was about 10(5) times enhancement compared to the measurement of TCH on a silicon substance. Our study is likely to constitute an important step toward the detection of antibiotic residues in a food matrix.

Terahertz sensing of chlorpyrifos-methyl using metamaterials.

By squeezing electromagnetic energy into small volumes near a metal-dielectric interface, plasmonics provide many routes to enhance and manipulate light-matter interactions, which presents new strategies for signal enhancing technologies. As an extension of the ideas of plasmonics to the terahertz (THz) range, metamaterials have shown great potential in sensing applications. In this study, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) combined with metamaterials was used to detect chlorpyrifos-methyl (CM), which is one type of the broad-spectrum organophosphorus pesticides. The results demonstrate that sensitivity is greatly improved using THz metamaterials, with the limit of detection (LOD) of CM reaching 0.204mgL-1, which is lower than the World Health Organizations provisional guideline limit for CM in vegetables (1mgL-1). The results indicated that THz spectroscopy combined with metamaterials could be a valuable method for highly sensitive THz applications, presenting a new strategy for food quality and safety control in the future.

Modulation of far-infrared light transmission by graphene-silicon Schottky junction

Tunable conductive properties of graphene in terahertz and far-infrared regimes provide a prominent way to control electromagnetic waves. In this paper, we explore the photon-electric properties of the graphene-silicon heterostructure and its application in modulating the transmission of far-infrared light. Experimentally, we show this structure will give rise to different transmission modulation ratios with amplitudes varying from tens to few percentages, dependent on the operation wavelength. The modulation effect gradually decreases and saturates within wavenumbers 1000-2000 cm−1 influenced by the pump light power. The diode transmission behavior is explicitly interpreted in terms of the Schottky junction formed between the graphene-silicon interface. The results give a further deep understanding of the electromagnetic behavior of graphene in the far-infrared region that may be integrated for potential applications.