Twisted Nematic Liquid-Crystal-Based Terahertz Phase Shifter using Pristine PEDOT: PSS Transparent Conducting Electrodes

For this study, we demonstrated three different types of twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal (LC) terahertz (THz) phase shifters using pristine poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) thin films as transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). The transmittance of spin-coated pristine PEDOT: PSS thin film was as high as 92% in the frequency range of 0.2–1.2 THz. This is among the highest reported. Several TN-LC cells were constructed in a comparative study, which confirmed the reliability of pristine PEDOT: PSS as a TCE layer for THz phase shifter applications. The highest phase shift, required root-mean-square (RMS) driving voltage, and threshold voltage achieved by devices tested were 95.2° at 1 THz, 7.2 VRMS, and 0.5 VRMS, respectively. The thickness of the LC layer for the phase shifter was 250 µm, approximately half as thick as previous designs. In addition, the pristine PEDOT: PSS-based TN-LC phase shifter exhibited a figure-of-merit (FOM) value of approximately 6.65 degree·dB−1·V−1. This compared favorably with previously reported homogeneously aligned phase shifters with an FOM of 2.19 degree·dB−1·V−1. Our results indicated that a twisted nematic LC cell with pristine PEDOT: PSS thin films as electrodes is a good combination for a THz phase shifter and wave plates as well as other LC-based THz devices.