3.8 mW terahertz radiation generation through plasmonic nano-antenna arrays

We present a high-performance photoconductive terahertz emitter based on a two dimensional array of plasmonic nano-antennas. The array of plasmonic nano-antennas is specifically designed to offer high power terahertz radiation by introducing a strong time-varying dipole moment in response to an incident optical pump. We experimentally demonstrate terahertz radiation power levels as high as 3.8 mW over 0.1-5 THz bandwidth in response to a 240 mW optical pump beam, exhibiting the highest reported terahertz power levels with one order of magnitude higher optical-to-terahertz conversion efficiencies compared to conventional designs.