Reflective grating-coupled structure improves the detection efficiency of THz array detectors.

A reflective grating-coupled structure on the silicon substrate was designed to improve the detection efficiency of terahertz detectors for the frequency ranging from 0.26 THz to 0.36 THz. By using finite difference time domain (FDTD) solutions, the simulation and optimized design of the grating-coupled structure were carried out. The results showed that the signal was effectively reflected and diffracted by the reflective grating-coupled structure which significantly enhanced the electric field in the place of the detector. The maximum electric field can be increased by 2.8 times than that of the Fabry-Perot resonator. To verify the design results, the reflective grating-coupled structure was applied in the preparation of the NbN array detector chip and compared with the NbN array detector chip with the F-P resonator. The results showed that the maximum voltage responsivity of the NbN detector with the reflective grating-coupled structure was 2 times larger than the NbN detector with the F-P resonator. It indicates that the reflective grating-coupled structure can efficiently improve the detection efficiency of THz detectors.