Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Terahertz imaging and spectroscopy of carbon-based and semiconductor nanostructures

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  • This thesis will cover work that I have completed relating to the field of terahertz (THz) science. My work has consisted of generating tunable, narrowband THz pulses in a table-top optical setup and using both narrow- and broadband THz pulses to study various material systems. Broadband THz pulses were used to study the transmission properties of a large-area graphene monolayer and vertically grown carbon nanotube forests. We performed raster scans to image our optically invisible graphene sample, which was clearly distinguished from its silicon substrate. From these studies, we were able to calculate the sheet conductivity/resistivity of the graphene using a contactless, non-damaging method that is immune to difficulties arising from local defects within the sample. It also opens up the possibility of studying the material properties of a sample enclosed within certain structures without having to remove the sample and/or damage the encasement. Further, we have discovered that vertically grown carbon nanotubes respond strongly to THz radiation. Preliminary simulations suggest that they respond in a very counterintuitive way and while much remains to be done before we can state with certainty exactly what is physically occurring, the prospect of uncovering such an unanticipated result is tantalizing on its own. I used difference frequency generation of orthogonal, temporally offset, chirped optical pulses to create our narrowband THz pulses. The variable time delay between these pulses was used to adjust the pulse's central frequency. THz time domain spectroscopy and calorimeter-based measurements were used to study the temporal and spectral composition and field strength of the THz pulses. These pulses, along with their broadband counterparts, were used to study electron dynamics within semiconductor nanostructures, both bare quantum wells and quantum wells grown inside of a microcavity. The dynamics of exciton and exciton-polariton polarizations were studied while intense THz pulses were used to modulate their resonances and coherently control their transitions.
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