Terahertz modulator using photonic crystals

In this letter, a novel terahertz wave modulator based on a silicon oxide/polyaniline photonic crystal is proposed. The modulation mechanism of the novel modulator is based on a dynamic shift of the photonic band gap by the applied external electric field. Its performances were investigated with the finite-difference time-domain method. The novel modulator has 3 dB modulation bandwidth of 10 kHz, a size as small as 20 mm and its extinction ratio larger than 30 dB at the frequency of 1 THz.