Terahertz saturable absorbers from liquid phase exfoliation of graphite

Vezio Bianchi, Tian Carey, Leonardo Viti, Lianhe Li, Edmund H. Linfield, A. Giles Davies, Alessandro Tredicucci, Duhee Yoon, Panagiotis G. Karagiannidis, Lucia Lombardi, Flavia Tomarchio, Andrea C. Ferrari, Felice Torrisi () and Miriam S. Vitiello ()
Additional contact information
Vezio Bianchi: NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore
Tian Carey: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Leonardo Viti: NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore
Lianhe Li: School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds
Edmund H. Linfield: School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds
A. Giles Davies: School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds
Alessandro Tredicucci: Università di Pisa
Duhee Yoon: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Panagiotis G. Karagiannidis: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Lucia Lombardi: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Flavia Tomarchio: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Andrea C. Ferrari: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Felice Torrisi: Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Miriam S. Vitiello: NEST, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Saturable absorbers (SA) operating at terahertz (THz) frequencies can open new frontiers in the development of passively mode-locked THz micro-sources. Here we report the fabrication of THz SAs by transfer coating and inkjet printing single and few-layer graphene films prepared by liquid phase exfoliation of graphite. Open-aperture z-scan measurements with a 3.5 THz quantum cascade laser show a transparency modulation ∼80%, almost one order of magnitude larger than that reported to date at THz frequencies. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy provides evidence of intraband-controlled absorption bleaching. These results pave the way to the integration of graphene-based SA with electrically pumped THz semiconductor micro-sources, with prospects for applications where excitation of specific transitions on short time scales is essential, such as time-of-flight tomography, coherent manipulation of quantum systems, time-resolved spectroscopy of gases, complex molecules and cold samples and ultra-high speed communications, providing unprecedented compactness and resolution.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15763

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