Simulation of THz photoconductive antennas loaded by different metallic nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effect of different metallic nanoparticles loaded in the gap of a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) photoconductive antenna. Three different metals (Au, Ag, and Al) are considered as the material of the nanostructures which were loaded in the gap of a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) photoconductive antenna as a THz source. The whole structure has been simulated to obtain the generated photocurrent. More than 132% improvement in photocurrent is demonstrated when using Al nanostructures.