Electrically reconfigurable terahertz signal processing devices using liquid metal components

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 4202 - 6
• Main Authors: Reichel, Kimberly S, Lozada-Smith, Nicolas, Joshipura, Ishan D, Ma, Jianjun, Shrestha, Rabi, Mendis, Rajind, Dickey, Michael D, Mittleman, Daniel M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 10.10.2018; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Data processing; Devices; Metals; Power flow; Reconfiguration; Signal processing; Waveguides
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06463-z

Many applications of terahertz (THz) technology require the ability to actively manipulate a free space THz beam. Yet, although there have been many reports on the development of devices for THz signal processing, few of these include the possibility of electrical control of the functionality, and novel ideas are needed for active and reconfigurable THz devices. Here, we introduce a new approach, based on the integration of electrically actuated liquid metal components in THz waveguides. This versatile platform offers many possibilities for control of THz spectral content, wave fron"ts, polarization, and power flow. We demonstrate two illustrative examples: the first active power-splitting switch, and the first channel add-drop filter. We show that both of these devices can be used to electrically switch THz communication signals while preserving the information in a high bit-rate-modulated data stream.