Large-area photonic circuits for terahertz detection and beam profiling

Alessandro Tomasino; Amirhassan Shams-Ansari; Marko Lončar; Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02089-1

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Large-area photonic circuits for terahertz detection and beam profiling

Original Articles

- Large-area photonic circuits for terahertz detection and beam profiling
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 1, Pages: 218-230(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Hybrid Photonics Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
  2.Center for Quantum Science and Engineering (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
  3.Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
  4.DRS Daylight Solutions, 16465 Via Esprillo, San Diego, CA, USA
- Author bio：
  
  Alessandro Tomasino (alessandro.tomasino@epfl.ch)
  Ileana-Cristina Benea-Chelmus (cristina.benea@epfl.ch)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02089-1
  CLC：
- Received：22 February 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-09-17，
  
  Accepted：11 October 2025，
  
  Published Online：01 January 2026，
  
  Published：31 January 2026
- Accepted：
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Tomasino, A. et al. Large-area photonic circuits for terahertz detection and beam profiling. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 218-230 (2026).
DOI：

Tomasino, A. et al. Large-area photonic circuits for terahertz detection and beam profiling. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 218-230 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02089-1.

摘要

Abstract

Deployment of terahertz communication and spectroscopy systems relies on the availability of low-noise and fast detectors

with plug-and-play capabilities. However

most current technologies are stand-alone

discrete components. They are often slow or susceptible to temperature drifts and require tight beam focusing to maximize the signal-to-noise of the detector. Here

we demonstrate an integrated photonic architecture in thin-film lithium niobate that addresses these challenges by exploiting the electro-optic modulation induced by a terahertz signal onto an optical beam at telecom frequencies. Leveraging on the low optical losses provided by this platform

we integrate a double array of up to 18 terahertz antennas within a Mach–Zehnder interferometer

considerably extending the device collection area and boosting the interaction efficiency between the terahertz signal and the optical beam. We show that the double array coherently builds up the probe modulation through a mechanism of quasi-phase-matching

driven by a periodic terahertz near-field pattern

circumventing physical inversion of the crystallographic domains. This provides means to fully custom-tailor the frequency response of the device

limit it to a desired frequency band and effectively suppress out-of-band signals. The large detection area ensures correct operation with diverse terahertz beam settings. Furthermore

we show that the antennas act as pixels that allow reconstruction of the terahertz beam profile impinging on the detector area. Our on-chip design in thin-film lithium niobate overcomes the detrimental effects of two-photon absorption and fixed phase-matching conditions

which have plagued previously explored electro-optic detection systems

especially in the telecom band

paving the way for more advanced on-chip terahertz systems.

关键词

Keywords

references

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