Design and analysis of a gate-tunable graphene-based nanoantenna

The systematic design of a graphene-based nanoantenna, whose radiation characteristics can be controlled by its gate voltage, is presented in this paper. For its consistent operation in the terahertz regime, the dimensions of the new patch-type radiator are comparable to the surface-wave wavelength. To this aim, a theoretical study of the propagation characteristics onto a graphene thin layer is performed and, after the accurate modeling of an initial antenna, the radiation pattern is thoroughly examined. Also, the influence of graphene's chemical potential differentiation is considered with respect to its conductivity and the propagation constant of surface waves. Numerical results, addressing the detailed investigation of various radiation characteristics, verify the significant contribution of graphene and the noteworthy properties of the proposed structure.