Nanopattern enabled terahertz all-optical switching on vanadium dioxide thin film

We demonstrate ultrafast all-optical control of terahertz (THz) radiation through nanoresonators, slot antennas with a hundred micron length but submicron width in thin gold layers, fabricated on vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. Our THz nanoresonators show almost perfect transmission at resonance. By virtue of phase transition of VO2 from insulating to metallic state, induced in subpicosecond time scale by moderate optical pump, ultrafast control of THz transmission is enabled. This is compared to bare VO2 films where no switching dynamics are observed under similar conditions. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3553504]