Scattering efficiency and near field enhancement of active semiconductor plasmonic antennas at terahertz frequencies

Terahertz plasmonic resonances in semiconductor (indium antimonide, InSb) dimer antennas are investigated theoretically. The antennas are formed by two rods separated by a small gap. We demonstrate that, with an appropriate choice of the shape and dimension of the semiconductor antennas, it is possible to obtain large electromagnetic field enhancement inside the gap. Unlike metallic antennas, the enhancement around the semiconductor plasmonics antenna can be easily adjusted by varying the concentration of free carriers, which can be achieved by optical or thermal excitation of carriers or electrical carrier injection. Such active plasmonic antennas are interesting structures for THz applications such as modulators and sensors. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America