ZnTe crystals and assemblies for electro-optic-sampling based THz detection [e-mail]

Minimum thickness of (110) component is 50 microns and for (100) substrate 1 mm.

Featured customer: Michael Ruggiero, University of Vermont
Over the past fifty years the development of advanced materials has rapidly progressed, solving many long-standing problems in a variety of fields ranging from pharmaceutics to electronics. While the chemical compositions and designs of such materials vary greatly, their success is ultimately driven by a combination of molecular structure, intermolecular interactions, and corresponding vibrational dynamics. My research interests lie at this interface, and we use an array of experimental and theoretical techniques to fully understand the fundamental forces that drive the performance of advanced materials, including pharmaceutical solids, organic semiconductors, metal-organic frameworks, and biological macromolecules.

The core of my research is related to the structure-dynamics relationship of molecular solids, i.e. how molecules are arranged and the nature of the molecular motions present. Specifically, we use low-frequency vibrational spectroscopy, which is an extension of infrared vibrational spectroscopy to lower-energies that falls within the terahertz frequency window (0.3-30 THz, 10-1000 cm-1). The technique is similar in concept to FTIR, however unlike FTIR (which probes motions on individual bonds) the lower frequencies can excite large-amplitude intermolecular motions of entire molecules.

There is mounting evidence these low frequency dynamics play a decisive role in the proper functioning of materials, having previously been shown to be critical in biomolecular processes, solid-state phase transformations, and gas-adsorption in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). My research focuses on understanding this important link by directly measuring the vibrational dynamics over an ultra-wide frequency range (0.3 – 30 THz), over ten-times the bandwidth that most terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) systems currently achieve. Combined with quantum-mechanical simulations, we can gain unprecedented insight into the relationship between structure, molecular motion, and the bulk properties of materials.

Examples of ZnTe and GaP THz assemblies from Del Mar Photonics:
All crystals have 10 mm x 10 mm dimensions
sandwiched ZnTe crystals Active layer: 100 um 110-cut, Bulk layer: 2 mm, 100-cut
sandwiched ZnTe crystals Active layer: 100 um 110-cut, Bulk layer: 3 mm, 100-cut
sandwiched GaP crystals Active layer: 500 um 110-cut, Bulk layer: 2 mm, 100-cut
sandwiched GaP crystals Active layer: 500 um 110-cut, Bulk layer: 3 mm, 100-cut
sandwiched GaP crystals Active layer: 250 um 110-cut, Bulk layer: 3 mm, 100-cut
Available in a standard 1" diameter round holder

PUBLICATIONS
Click here for more publications (link to the Ruggiero Google Scholar profile):

M. T. Ruggiero*, J. A. Zeitler, and A. Erba. Intermolecular Anharmonicity in Molecular Crystals: Interplay Between Low-Frequency Dynamics and Quantum Quasi- Harmonic Simulations of Solid Purine. Chem. Commun., 2017, 53, 3781–3784.

M. T. Ruggiero, and J. A. Zeitler. Resolving the Origins of Crystalline Anharmonicity Using Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy and ab initio Simulations. J. Phys. Chen. B., 2016, 120, 11733–11739.

M. T. Ruggiero, J. Sibik, R. Orlando, J. A. Zeitler, and T. M. Korter. Measuring the Elasticities of Poly-L-Proline Helices with Terahertz Spectroscopy. Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed., 2016, 128, 6991–6995 (2016). (Featured on Journal Inside Cover, featured in C&E News, Terahertz Radiation Probes Polymers, 2016, 94, 30–31.

M. T. Ruggiero, M. Krynski, E. O. Kissi, J. Sibik, D. Markl, N. Y. Tan, D. Arslanov, W. v. d. Zande, B. Redlich, T. M. Korter, H. Grohganz, K. Lobmann, T. Rades, S. R. Elliott, and J. A. Zeitler. The Significance of the Amorphous Potential Energy Landscape for Dictating Glassy Dynamics and Driving Solid-State Crystallisation, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017, 19, 30039–30047.

M. T. Ruggiero, J. Sibik, A. Erba, J. A. Zeitler, and T.M. Korter. Quantification of Cation-Anion Interactions in Crystalline Monopotassium and Monosodium Glutamate Salts. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017, 19, 28647–28652.

M. T. Ruggiero, J. A. Zeitler, and T.M. Korter. Concomitant Polymorphism and the Martensitic-Like Transformation of an Organic Crystal, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017, 19, 28502–28506.

A. S. Larsen, M. T. Ruggiero, K. E. Johannson, J. A. Zeitler, and J. Rantanen. Tracking Dehydration Mechanisms in Crystalline Hydrates with Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Cryst. Growth & Des., 2017, 17, 5017–5022.

M. T. Ruggiero, J. Sibik, J. A. Zeitler, and T.M. Korter. Examination of L-Glutamic Acid Polymorphs by Solid-State Density Functional Theory and Terahertz Spectroscopy. J. Phys. Chem. A. 2016, 120, 7490–7495.