Ultrafast Optomechanical Terahertz Modulators Based on Stretchable Carbon Nanotube Thin Films

For terahertz wave applications, tunable and rapid modulation is highly required. When studied by means of optical pump–terahertz probe spectroscopy, single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films demonstrated ultrafast carrier recombination lifetimes with a high relative change in the signal under optical excitation, making them promising candidates for high-speed modulators. Here, combination of SWCNT thin films and stretchable substrates facilitated studies of the SWCNT mechanical properties under strain and enabled the development of a new type of an optomechanical modulator. By applying a certain strain to the SWCNT films, the effective sheet conductance and therefore modulation depth can be fine-tuned to optimize the designed modulator. Modulators exhibited a photoconductivity change of approximately 2 times of magnitude under the strain because of the structural modification in the SWCNT network. Stretching was used to control the terahertz signal with a modulation depth of around 100% without strain and 65% at a high strain operation of 40%. The sensitivity of modulators to beam polarization is also shown, which might also come in handy for the design of a stretchable polarizer. Our results give a fundamental grounding for the design of high-sensitivity stretchable devices based on SWCNT films.