Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Publication Date
7-22-2015
Publisher
AIP Publishing
Source Publication
Applied Physics Letters
Source ISSN
0003-6951
Abstract
We demonstrate improved terahertz (THz) modulation using thermally crystallized germanium telluride (GeTe) thin films. GeTe is a chalcogenidematerial that exhibits a nonvolatile, amorphous to crystalline phase change at approximately 200 °C, as well as six orders of magnitude decreased electrical resistivity. In this study, amorphous GeTe thin filmswere sputtered on sapphire substrates and then tested using THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The test samples, heated in-situ while collecting THz-TDS measurements, exhibited a gradual absorbance increase, an abrupt nonvolatile reduction at the transition temperature, followed by another gradual increase in absorbance. The transition temperature was verified by conducting similar thermal tests while monitoring electrical resistivity. THz transmittance modulation data were investigated between 10 and 110 cm−1 (0.3–3.3 THz). A peak modulation of approximately 99% was achieved at 2.3 THz with a 100 nm GeTe film on a sapphire substrate. After isolating the sapphire and the crystalline GeTe (c-GeTe) absorbance contributions, the results showed THz modulations ranging from 88.5% to 91.5% that were attributed solely to the single layer of transitioned c-GeTe. These results strongly motivate using GeTe or other chalcogenide thin films in THz modulators, filters, and metamaterial applications.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Gwin, A. H.; Kodama, C. H.; Laurvick, T.; Coutu, Ronald A. Jr.; and Taday, P. F., "Improved Terahertz Modulation Using Germanium Telluride (GeTe) Chalcogenide Thin Films" (2015). Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications. 332.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/electric_fac/332
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Comments
Published version. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, No. 3 (July 2015): 031904. DOI. © 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
R.A. Coutu, Jr. was affiliated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio at the time of publication.