Terahertz Dipole Nanoantenna Arrays: Resonance Characteristics

Resonant dipole nanoantennas promise to considerably improve the capabilities of terahertz spectroscopy, offering the possibility of increasing its sensitivity through local field enhancement, while in principle allowing unprecedented spatial resolutions, well below the diffraction limit. Here, we investigate the resonance properties of ordered arrays of terahertz dipole nanoantennas, both experimentally and through numerical simulations. We demonstrate the tunability of this type of structures, in a range (∼1–2 THz) that is particularly interesting and accessible by means of standard zinc telluride sources. We additionally study the near-field resonance properties of the arrays, finding that the resonance shift observed between near-field and far-field spectra is predominantly ascribable to ohmic damping.