2D materials assisted terahertz modulators and sensors
Source abstract
Abstract
Terahertz (THz) technology, with its unique advantages of high-bandwidth transmission, non-ionizing radiation, and molecular fingerprint recognition, has emerged as a powerful platform for next-generation wireless communications and non-destructive sensing applications. However, the advancement of THz technology remains constrained, partly due to the lack of efficient functional devices. Consequently, the materials used to fabricate the devices have drawn significant attention. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, with their atomic-scale thickness and unique optoelectronic properties, allow subwavelength-scale manipulation of light’s phase, amplitude, and polarization, making them ideal for THz modulator and sensor development. This review comprehensively examines 2D material-based THz modulators and sensors, highlighting key materials (graphene, TMDs, MXenes) and the operational mechanisms that enable their functionality. We analyze state-of-the-art device implementations and address current challenges in the field. These 2D materials demonstrate significant potential for advancing THz technology through innovative device designs.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: 2D Materials and Applications · MXene and MAX Phase Materials · Terahertz technology and applications
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (100+)
Show source-provided references
1. Peng, Y., Shi, C., Zhu, Y., Gu, M. & Zhuang, S. Terahertz spectroscopy in biomedical field: a review on signal-to-noise ratio improvement. PhotoniX 1, 12 (2020).10.1186/s43074-020-00011-z ↗
2. Shi, Z. et al. Two-dimensional materials toward terahertz optoelectronic device applications. J. Photochem. Photobiol. C Photochem. Rev. 51, 100473 (2022).10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2021.100473 ↗
3. Wu, Y. et al. Emerging probing perspective of two-dimensional materials physics: terahertz emission spectroscopy. Light Sci. Appl. 13, 114 (2024).10.1038/s41377-024-01486-2 ↗
4. Ukirade, N. A. A review on advancement of materials for terahertz applications. Mater 6, 100479 (2025).
5. Wang, Y. et al. Rapid qualitative and quantitative analysis of chlortetracycline hydrochloride and tetracycline hydrochloride in environmental samples based on terahertz frequency-domain spectroscopy. Talanta 190, 284–291 (2018).10.1016/j.talanta.2018.08.008 ↗
6. Wang, H. et al. Recent progress in terahertz biosensors based on artificial electromagnetic subwavelength structure. TrAC Trends Anal. Chem. 158, 116888 (2023).10.1016/j.trac.2022.116888 ↗
7. Chen, Z. et al. Research advances and perspectives on terahertz detection based on 2D materials. Adv. Phys. Res. 4, 2400094 (2024).10.1002/apxr.202400094 ↗
8. Sun, Y. et al. Wearable biodevices based on two-dimensional materials: from flexible sensors to smart integrated systems. Nano-Micro Lett. 17, 109 (2025).10.1007/s40820-024-01597-w ↗
9. Duan, X. et al. Lateral epitaxial growth of two-dimensional layered semiconductor heterojunctions. Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 1024–1030 (2014).10.1038/nnano.2014.222 ↗
10. Viti, L., Pushkarev, V., Abouzar Sarfraz, S. M., Scamarcio, G. & Vitiello, M. S. Efficient large-area graphene p-n junction terahertz receivers on an integrated optical platform. Small Methods 9, 2500083 (2025).10.1002/smtd.202500083 ↗
11. Wang, Q. H., Kalantar-Zadeh, K., Kis, A., Coleman, J. N. & Strano, M. S. Electronics and optoelectronics of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. Nat. Nanotechnol. 7, 699–712 (2012).10.1038/nnano.2012.193 ↗
12. Eda, G. et al. Photoluminescence from chemically exfoliated MoS₂. Nano Lett. 11, 5111–5116 (2011).10.1021/nl201874w ↗
13. Butler, S. Z. et al. Progress, challenges, and opportunities in two-dimensional materials beyond graphene. ACS Nano 7, 2898–2926 (2013).10.1021/nn400280c ↗
14. Chhowalla, M. et al. The chemistry of two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets. Nat. Chem. 5, 263–275 (2013).10.1038/nchem.1589 ↗
15. Xu, Y., Shi, Z., Shi, X., Zhang, K. & Zhang, H. Recent progress in black phosphorus and black-phosphorus-analogue materials: properties, synthesis and applications. Nanoscale 11, 14491–14527 (2019).10.1039/C9NR04348A ↗
16. Hu, H. et al. Recent advances in doping engineering of black phosphorus. J. Mater. Chem. A 8, 5421–5441 (2020).10.1039/D0TA00416B ↗
17. Shi, Z. et al. Recent insights into the robustness of two-dimensional black phosphorous in optoelectronic applications. J. Photochem. Photobiol. C: Photochem. Rev. 43, 100354 (2020).10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2020.100354 ↗
18. Zhang, X. et al. Electron dynamics in MoS₂-graphite heterostructures. Nanoscale 9, 14533–14539 (2017).10.1039/C7NR04763K ↗
19. Pitchappa, P., Kumar, A., Singh, R., Lee, C. & Wang, N. Terahertz MEMS metadevices. J. Micromech. Microeng. 31, 113001 (2021).10.1088/1361-6439/ac1eed ↗
20. Beck, M. E. & Hersam, M. C. Emerging opportunities for electrostatic control in atomically thin devices. ACS Nano 14, 6498–6518 (2020).10.1021/acsnano.0c03299 ↗
21. Dai, M., Zhang, X. & Wang, Q. J. 2D materials for photothermoelectric detectors: mechanisms, materials, and devices. Adv. Funct. Mater. 34, 2312872 (2024).10.1002/adfm.202312872 ↗
22. Abdullah, M. et al. Recent progress of 2D materials-based photodetectors from UV to THz waves: principles, materials, and applications. Small 20, 2402668 (2024).10.1002/smll.202402668 ↗
23. Sharma, S., Parne, S. R., Panda, S. S. S. & Gandi, S. Progress in microwave absorbing materials: a critical review. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 327, 103143 (2024).10.1016/j.cis.2024.103143 ↗
24. Gou, J. et al. Influence of reactive ion etching on THz transmission and reflection properties of NiCr film deposited on a dielectric substrate. Medziagotyra 21, 2 (2015).
25. Qi, Y. et al. Recent progress in strain engineering on van der Waals 2D materials: tunable electrical, electrochemical, magnetic, and optical properties. Adv. Mater. 35, 2205714 (2023).10.1002/adma.202205714 ↗
26. Han, J. et al. 2D materials-based photodetectors with bi-directional responses in enabling intelligent optical sensing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 35, 2423360 (2025).10.1002/adfm.202423360 ↗
27. Cheng, Z. et al. 2D materials enabled next-generation integrated optoelectronics: from fabrication to applications. Adv. Sci. 8, 2003834 (2021).10.1002/advs.202003834 ↗
28. Degl’innocenti, R., Lin, H. & Navarro-Cía, M. Recent progress in terahertz metamaterial modulators. Nanophotonics 11, 1485–1514 (2022).10.1515/nanoph-2021-0803 ↗
29. Li, J. et al. Terahertz science and technology in astronomy, telecommunications, and biophysics. Research 8, 0586 (2025).10.34133/research.0586 ↗
30. Lei, Z. L. & Guo, B. 2D material-based optical biosensor: status and prospect. Adv. Sci. 9, 2102924 (2022).10.1002/advs.202102924 ↗
31. Zhang, W. et al. Terahertz metamaterials for biosensing applications: a review. Biosensors 14, 3 (2024).10.3390/bios14010003 ↗
32. Elbanna, A. et al. 2D material infrared photonics and plasmonics. ACS Nano 17, 4134–4179 (2023).10.1021/acsnano.2c10705 ↗
33. Katiyar, A. K. et al. 2D materials in flexible electronics: recent advances and future prospectives. Chem. Rev. 124, 318–419 (2024).10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00302 ↗
34. Kleine-Ostmann, T., Pierz, K., Hein, G., Dawson, P. & Koch, M. Audio signal transmission over THz communication channel using semiconductor modulator. Electron. Lett. 40, 124–126 (2004).10.1049/el:20040106 ↗
35. Qiao, J. et al. Ultrasensitive and broadband all-optically controlled THz modulator based on MoTe₂/Si van der Waals heterostructure. Adv. Opt. Mater. 8, 1902140 (2020).10.1002/adom.202000160 ↗
36. Ono, M. et al. Ultrafast and energy-efficient all-optical switching with graphene-loaded deep-subwavelength plasmonic waveguides. Nat. Photonics 14, 37–43 (2020).10.1038/s41566-019-0547-7 ↗
37. Liu, H. et al. Terahertz modulation and ultrafast characteristic of two-dimensional lead halide perovskites. Nanomaterials 12, 3559 (2022).10.3390/nano12203559 ↗
38. Yakimchuk, E., Soots, R., Kotin, I. & Antonova, I. 2D printed graphene conductive layers with high carrier mobility. Curr. Appl. Phys. 17, 1655–1661 (2017).10.1016/j.cap.2017.09.012 ↗
39. Liao, C., Li, Y. & Tjong, S. C. Graphene nanomaterials: synthesis, biocompatibility, and cytotoxicity. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 19, 3564 (2018).10.3390/ijms19113564 ↗
40. Novoselov, K. S. et al. Electric field effect in atomically thin carbon films. Science 306, 666–669 (2004).10.1126/science.1102896 ↗
41. Naguib, M. et al. MXene: a promising transition metal carbide anode for lithium-ion batteries. Electrochem. Commun. 16, 61–64 (2012).10.1016/j.elecom.2012.01.002 ↗
42. Naguib, M., Mochalin, V. N., Barsoum, M. W. & Gogotsi, Y. 25th anniversary article: MXenes: a new family of two-dimensional materials. Adv. Mater. 26, 992–1005 (2014).10.1002/adma.201304138 ↗
43. Ling, Z. et al. Flexible and conductive MXene films and nanocomposites with high capacitance. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 111, 16676–16681 (2014).10.1073/pnas.1414215111 ↗
44. Alhabeb, M. et al. Guidelines for synthesis and processing of two-dimensional titanium carbide (Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene). Chem. Mater. 29, 7633–7644 (2017).10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02847 ↗
45. Wu, W., Qiu, G., Wang, Y., Wang, R. & Ye, P. Tellurene: its physical properties, scalable nanomanufacturing, and device applications. Chem. Soc. Rev. 47, 7203–7212 (2018).10.1039/C8CS00598B ↗
46. Shi, Z. et al. Two-dimensional tellurium: progress, challenges, and prospects. Nano-Micro Lett. 12, 99 (2020).10.1007/s40820-020-00427-z ↗
47. Novoselov, K. S. et al. Two-dimensional gas of massless Dirac fermions in graphene. Nature 438, 197–200 (2005).10.1038/nature04233 ↗
48. Singh, V. et al. Graphene based materials: past, present and future. Prog. Mater. Sci. 56, 1178–1271 (2011).10.1016/j.pmatsci.2011.03.003 ↗
49. Novoselov, K. S. et al. Two-dimensional atomic crystals. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102, 10451–10453 (2005).10.1073/pnas.0502848102 ↗
50. Zhang, Y., Tan, Y. W., Stormer, H. L. & Kim, P. Experimental observation of the quantum Hall effect and Berry’s phase in graphene. Nature 438, 201–204 (2005).10.1038/nature04235 ↗
51. Sañudo, J. & López-Ruiz, R. Statistical measures and the Klein tunneling in single-layer graphene. Phys. Lett. A 378, 1005–1009 (2014).10.1016/j.physleta.2014.01.053 ↗
52. Du, R. et al. Tuning anti-Klein to Klein tunneling in bilayer graphene. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 127706 (2018).10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.127706 ↗
53. Robinson, T. R. On Klein tunneling in graphene. Am. J. Phys. 80, 141–147 (2012).10.1119/1.3658629 ↗
54. Chen, H. et al. Recent advances of low-dimensional materials in mid-and far-infrared photonics. Appl. Mater. Today 21, 100800 (2020).10.1016/j.apmt.2020.100800 ↗
55. Low, T. & Avouris, P. Graphene plasmonics for terahertz to mid-infrared applications. ACS Nano 8, 1086–1101 (2014).10.1021/nn406627u ↗
56. O’Hara, K. M., Hemmer, S. L., Gehm, M. E., Granade, S. R. & Thomas, J. E. Observation of a strongly interacting degenerate fermi gas of atoms. Science 298, 2179–2182 (2002).10.1126/science.1079107 ↗
57. Ren, L. et al. Terahertz and infrared spectroscopy of gated large-area graphene. Nano Lett. 12, 3711–3715 (2012).10.1021/nl301496r ↗
58. George, P. A. et al. Ultrafast optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy of the carrier relaxation and recombination dynamics in epitaxial graphene. Nano Lett. 8, 4248–4251 (2008).10.1021/nl8019399 ↗
59. Maeng, I. et al. Gate-controlled nonlinear conductivity of Dirac fermion in graphene field-effect transistors measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Nano Lett. 12, 551–555 (2012).10.1021/nl202442b ↗
60. Wright, A. R., Xu, X. G., Cao, J. C. & Zhang, C. Strong nonlinear optical response of graphene in the terahertz regime. Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 072101 (2009).10.1063/1.3205115 ↗
61. Peres, N. M. R., Bludov, Y. V., Santos, J. E., Jauho, A. P. & Vasilevskiy, M. I. Optical bistability of graphene in the terahertz range. Phys. Rev. B 90, 125425 (2014).10.1103/PhysRevB.90.125425 ↗
62. Dai, X., Jiang, L. & Xiang, Y. Low threshold optical bistability at terahertz frequencies with graphene surface plasmons. Sci. Rep. 5, 12271 (2015).10.1038/srep12271 ↗
63. Jadidi, M. M. et al. Nonlinear terahertz absorption of graphene plasmons. Nano Lett. 16, 2734–2738 (2016).10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00405 ↗
64. In, C., Kim, U. J. & Choi, H. Two-dimensional Dirac plasmon-polaritons in graphene, 3D topological insulator and hybrid systems. Light Sci. Appl. 11, 183 (2022).10.1038/s41377-022-01012-2 ↗
65. Liu, J., Yu, M. Y., Yu, Z. Z. & Nicolosi, V. Design and advanced manufacturing of electromagnetic interference shielding materials. Mater. Today 66, 245–272 (2023).10.1016/j.mattod.2023.03.022 ↗
66. Tian, H. et al. THz biosensing applications for clinical laboratories: bottlenecks and strategies. TrAC Trends Anal. Chem. 163, 117057 (2023).10.1016/j.trac.2023.117057 ↗
67. Lee, S. H. et al. Graphene assisted terahertz metamaterials for sensitive bio-sensing. Sens. Actuators B Chem. 310, 127841 (2020).10.1016/j.snb.2020.127841 ↗
68. Zhang, Y., Feng, Y., Zhu, B., Zhao, J. & Jiang, T. Graphene based tunable metamaterial absorber and polarization modulation in terahertz frequency. Opt. Express 22, 22743–22752 (2014).10.1364/OE.22.022743 ↗
69. Smirnova, D. A., Miroshnichenko, A. E., Kivshar, Y. S. & Khanikaev, A. B. Tunable nonlinear graphene metasurfaces. Phys. Rev. B 92, 161406 (2015).10.1103/PhysRevB.92.161406 ↗
70. Kim, T. T. et al. Electrically tunable slow light using graphene metamaterials. ACS Photonics 5, 1800–1807 (2018).10.1021/acsphotonics.7b01551 ↗
71. Feng, L. et al. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides based composites for microwave absorption applications: a review. J. Phys. Energy 5, 042001 (2023).10.1088/2515-7655/ac9f6b ↗
72. Cheng, J. et al. From VIB- to VB-group transition metal disulfides: structure engineering modulation for superior electromagnetic wave absorption. Nano-Micro Lett. 16, 92 (2024).10.1007/s40820-023-01247-7 ↗
73. Shi, J. et al. THz photonics in two dimensional materials and metamaterials: properties, devices and prospects. J. Mater. Chem. C. 6, 1291–1306 (2018).10.1039/C7TC05460B ↗
74. Yang, S. et al. High-performance few-layer Mo-doped ReSe₂ nanosheet photodetectors. Sci. Rep. 4, 5442 (2014).10.1038/srep05442 ↗
75. Li, H. M. et al. Metal-semiconductor barrier modulation for high photoresponse in transition metal dichalcogenide field effect transistors. Sci. Rep. 4, 4041 (2014).10.1038/srep04041 ↗
76. Ko, P. J., Abderrahmane, A., Kim, N. H. & Sandhu, A. High-performance near-infrared photodetector based on nano-layered MoSe₂. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 32, 065015 (2017).10.1088/1361-6641/aa6819 ↗
77. Kuc, A., Zibouche, N. & Heine, T. Influence of quantum confinement on the electronic structure of the transition metal sulfide TS₂. Phys. Rev. B 83, 245213 (2011).10.1103/PhysRevB.83.245213 ↗
78. Deng, X. Y., Deng, X. H., Su, F. H., Liu, N. H. & Liu, J. T. Broadband ultra-high transmission of terahertz radiation through monolayer MoS₂. J. Appl. Phys. 118, 224304 (2015).10.1063/1.4937276 ↗
79. Chen, S. et al. Ultrasensitive terahertz modulation by silicon-grown MoS₂ nanosheets. Nanoscale 8, 4713–4719 (2016).10.1039/C5NR08101G ↗
80. Zheng, W., Fan, F., Chen, M., Chen, S. & Chang, S. J. Optically pumped terahertz wave modulation in MoS₂-Si heterostructure metasurface. AIP Adv. 6, 055115 (2016).10.1063/1.4958878 ↗
81. Hu, L., Wei, D. & Huang, X. Second harmonic generation property of monolayer TMDCs and its potential application in producing terahertz radiation. J. Chem. Phys. 147, 244701 (2017).10.1063/1.5000561 ↗
82. Docherty, C. J. et al. Ultrafast transient terahertz conductivity of monolayer MoS₂ and WSe₂ grown by chemical vapor deposition. ACS Nano 8, 11147–11153 (2014).10.1021/nn5034746 ↗
83. Wei, K. et al. Recent development of metal-organic frameworks and their composites in electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding applications. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 332, 103271 (2024).10.1016/j.cis.2024.103271 ↗
84. Mu, Z. et al. Magnetic metal-based MOF composite materials: a multidimensional regulation strategy for microwave absorption properties. Adv. Compos. Hybrid. Mater. 7, 82 (2024).10.1007/s42114-024-00991-7 ↗
85. Liu, J. et al. Magnetic, electrically conductive and lightweight graphene/iron pentacarbonyl porous films enhanced with chitosan for highly efficient broadband electromagnetic interference shielding. Compos. Sci. Technol. 151, 71–78 (2017).10.1016/j.compscitech.2017.08.005 ↗
86. Asadi, K. et al. Ferroelectricity in metal–organic frameworks: characterization and mechanisms. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2016, 4332–4344 (2016).10.1002/ejic.201600932 ↗
87. Liu, M., Liang, J., Tian, Y. & Liu, Z. Post-synthetic modification within MOFs: a valuable strategy for modulating their ferroelectric performance. CrystEngComm 24, 724–737 (2022).10.1039/D1CE01567B ↗
88. Ma, X. et al. Recent advances in metal/covalent organic framework-based materials for photoelectrochemical sensing applications. TrAC Trends Anal. Chem. 157, 116793 (2022).10.1016/j.trac.2022.116793 ↗
89. Shu, J. C. et al. Tailoring MOF-based materials to tune electromagnetic property for great microwave absorbers and devices. Carbon 162, 157–171 (2020).10.1016/j.carbon.2020.02.047 ↗
90. Talin, A. A. et al. Tunable electrical conductivity in metal-organic framework thin-film devices. Science 343, 66–69 (2014).10.1126/science.1246738 ↗
91. Lin, X., Gao, G., Zheng, L., Chi, Y. & Chen, G. Encapsulation of strongly fluorescent carbon quantum dots in metal-organic frameworks for enhancing chemical sensing. Anal. Chem. 86, 1223–1228 (2014).10.1021/ac403536a ↗
92. Ma, W., Jiang, Q., Yu, P., Yang, L. & Mao, L. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-based electrochemical biosensor for in vivo electrochemical measurements. Anal. Chem. 85, 7550–7557 (2013).10.1021/ac401576u ↗
93. Xu, W. et al. Pesticide detection with covalent-organic-framework nanofilms at terahertz band. Biosens. Bioelectron. 209, 114274 (2022).10.1016/j.bios.2022.114274 ↗
94. Li, G. et al. Surface chemistry engineering and the applications of MXenes. J. Mater. 9, 1160–1184 (2023).
95. Lin, H., Wang, X., Yu, L., Chen, Y. & Shi, J. Two-dimensional ultrathin MXene ceramic nanosheets for photothermal conversion. Nano Lett. 17, 384–391 (2017).10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04339 ↗
96. Wu, Z. et al. Niobium and titanium carbides (MXenes) as superior photothermal supports for CO₂ photocatalysis. ACS Nano 15, 5696–5705 (2021).10.1021/acsnano.1c00990 ↗
97. Kar, S., Lake, J., Adeyemo, S. O., Santra, T. S. & Joyce, H. J. The physics of terahertz negative photoconductivity in low-dimensional materials. Mater. Today Phys. 23, 100631 (2022).10.1016/j.mtphys.2022.100631 ↗
98. Liu, J. et al. Hydrophobic, flexible, and lightweight MXene foams for high-performance electromagnetic-interference shielding. Adv. Mater. 29, 1702367 (2017).10.1002/adma.201702367 ↗
99. Jin, M. et al. Transparent, conductive and flexible MXene grid/silver nanowire hierarchical films for high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding. J. Mater. Chem. A 10, 14364–14373 (2022).10.1039/D2TA03689D ↗
100. Deng, Z., Tang, P., Wu, X., Zhang, H. B. & Yu, Z. Z. Superelastic, ultralight, and conductive Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene/acidified carbon nanotube anisotropic aerogels for electromagnetic interference shielding. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 13, 20539–20547 (2021).10.1021/acsami.1c02059 ↗