On-chip terahertz isolator with ultrahigh isolation ratios

Shixing Yuan; Liao Chen; Ziwei Wang; Wentao Deng; Zhibo Hou; Chi Zhang; Yu Yu; Xiaojun Wu; Xinliang Zhang

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-25881-0

On-chip terahertz isolator with ultrahigh isolation ratios

Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 22;12(1):5570. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25881-0.

Authors

Shixing Yuan¹, Liao Chen¹, Ziwei Wang¹, Wentao Deng¹, Zhibo Hou¹, Chi Zhang¹, Yu Yu¹, Xiaojun Wu^{2

3}, Xinliang Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074, Wuhan, China.
² Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074, Wuhan, China. xiaojunwu@buaa.edu.cn.
³ School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China. xiaojunwu@buaa.edu.cn.
⁴ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074, Wuhan, China. xlzhang@mail.hust.edu.cn.

Abstract

Terahertz isolators, one of the typical nonreciprocal devices that can break Lorentz reciprocity, are indispensable building blocks in terahertz systems for their critical functionality of manipulating the terahertz flow. Here, we report an integrated terahertz isolator based on the magneto-optical effect of a nonreciprocal resonator. By optimizing the magneto-optical property and the loss of the resonator, we experimentally observe unidirectional propagation with an ultrahigh isolation ratio reaching up to 52 dB and an insertion loss around 7.5 dB at ~0.47 THz. With a thermal tuning method and periodic resonances, the isolator can operate at different central frequencies in the range of 0.405-0.495 THz. This on-chip terahertz isolator will not only inspire more solutions for integrated terahertz nonreciprocal devices, but also have the feasibility for practical applications such as terahertz sensing and reducing unnecessary reflections in terahertz systems.

Abstract

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