THz near-field enhancement by means of isolated dipolar antennas: the effect of finite sample size

Abstract

Generation of high intensity terahertz radiation in the low frequency region (f < 5 THz) is still a challenging task and only few experimental demonstrations exceeding 1 MV/cm have been reported so far. One viable option is the use of resonant metallic structures which act as amplifiers for the impinging radiation. Here with the aid of finite difference time domain simulations, we design and realize a set of isolated resonant elements which allow us to reach a 28-fold enhancement of freely propagating THz radiation at f ≈ 1 THz. These elements are deposited on a GaP sample allowing the direct measurement of the field enhancement using electro-optical sampling. Interestingly, we experimentally show strong modifications of the antennas resonance which is interpreted in terms of interference effects. These are particularly important in samples thinner than half the spatial pulse length.