Date Available
3-31-2014
Year of Publication
2014
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE)
College
Engineering
Department/School/Program
Electrical Engineering
Advisor
Dr. Stephen Gedney
Abstract
The frequency demands of radiating systems are moving into the terahertz band with potential applications that include sensing, imaging, and extremely broadband communication. One commonly used method for generating and detecting terahertz waves is to excite a voltage-biased photoconductive antenna with an extremely short laser pulse. The pulsed laser generates charge carriers in a photoconductive substrate which are swept onto the metallic antenna traces to produce an electric current that radiates or detects a terahertz band signal. Therefore, analysis of a photoconductive antenna requires simultaneous solutions of both semiconductor physics equations (including drift-diffusion and continuity relations) and Maxwell’s equations. A multi-physics analysis scheme based on the Discontinuous-Galerkin Finite-Element Time-Domain (DGFETD) is presented that couples the semiconductor drift-diffusion equations with the electromagnetic Maxwell’s equations. A simple port model is discussed that efficiently couples the two equation sets. Various photoconductive antennas were fabricated using TiAu metallization on a GaAs substrate and the fabrication process is detailed. Computed emission intensities are compared with measured data. Optimized antenna designs based on the analysis are presented for a variety of antenna configurations.
Recommended Citation
Boyd, Darren Ray, "A Multi-Physics Computational Approach to Simulating THz Photoconductive Antennas with Comparison to Measured Data and Fabrication of Samples" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering. 39.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ece_etds/39
Included in
Electromagnetics and Photonics Commons, Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Manufacturing Commons, Nanotechnology Fabrication Commons
