Photothermal conversion of Ti2O3 film for tuning terahertz waves

Yu Cai; Hongfu Zhu; Qiwu Shi; Ye Cheng; Lei Chang; Wanxia Huang

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103661

Photothermal conversion of Ti₂O₃ film for tuning terahertz waves

iScience. 2021 Dec 18;25(1):103661. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103661. eCollection 2022 Jan 21.

Authors

Yu Cai¹, Hongfu Zhu¹, Qiwu Shi¹, Ye Cheng¹, Lei Chang¹, Wanxia Huang¹

Affiliation

¹ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China.

Abstract

Dynamic tuning of terahertz (THz) wave is vital for the development of next generation THz devices. Utilization of solar energy for tuning THz waves is a promising, eco-friendly, and sustainable way to expand THz application scenarios. Ti₂O₃ with an ultranarrow bandgap of 0.1eV exhibits intriguing thermal-induced metal-insulator transition (MIT), and possesses excellent photothermal conversion efficiency. Herein, Ti₂O₃ film was fabricated by a two-step magnetron sputtering method, and exhibited an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 90.45% and demonstrated temperature-dependent THz transmission characteristics with a wideband at 0.1-1 THz. We supposed to combine photothermal conversion characteristics with temperature-dependent THz transmission properties of Ti₂O₃ film, which could introduce solar light as the energy source for tuning THz waves. Our work will provide new sight for investigating MIT characteristics of Ti₂O₃ at THz regime and exhibit huge potential in the application of tuning terahertz waves in outdoor scenarios in the future.

Keywords: Nanotechnology; Radiation physics; Radiation sources.