Material growth and device fabrication of terahertz quantum-cascade laser based on bound-to-continuum structure

The terahertz quantum-cascade laser （THz QCL） based on bound-to-continuum structure is demonstrated. The X-ray diffraction measurement of the material shows a high crystalline quality of the active region. A THz QCL device was fabricated with semi-insulating surface-plasmon waveguide. The test device is lasing at about 3 THz and operating up to 60 K. It shows a single frequency property under different drive currents and temperatures. At 9 K, the maximum output power is greater than 2 mW with a threshold current density of 159 A/cm2.

Phase-locked single-mode terahertz quantum cascade lasers array

We demonstrated a scheme of phase-locked terahertz quantum cascade lasers(THz QCLs)array,with a single-mode pulse power of 108 mW at 13 K.The device utilizes a Talbot cavity to achieve phase locking among five ridge lasers with first-order buried distributed feedback(DFB)grating,resulting in nearly five times amplification of the single-mode power.Due to the optimum length of Talbot cavity depends on wavelength,the combination of Talbot cavity with the DFB grating leads to better power amplification than the combination with multimode Fabry-Perot(F-P)cavities.The Talbot cavity facet reflects light back to the ridge array direction and achieves self-imaging in the array,enabling phase-locked operation of ridges.We set the spacing between adjacent elements to be 220μm,much larger than the free-space wavelength,ensuring the operation of the fundamental supermode throughout the laser's dynamic range and obtaining a high-brightness far-field distribution.This scheme provides a new approach for enhancing the single-mode power of THz QCLs.

Intense low-noise terahertz generation by relativistic laser irradiating near-critical-density plasma

Low-noise terahertz(THz)radiation over 100 MV/cm generation by a linearly-polarized relativistic laser pulse interacting with a near-critical-density(NCD)plasma slab is studied by theory and particle-in-cell(PIC)simulations.A theoretical model is established to examine the dipole-like radiation emission.The THz radiation is attributed to the singlecycle low-frequency surface current,which is longitudinally constrained by the quasi-equilibrium established by the laser ponderomotive force and the ponderomotively induced electrostatic force.Through theoretical analysis,the spatiotemporal characteristics,polarization property of the THz radiation,and the relation between the radiation strength with the initial parameters of driving laser and plasma are obtained,which are in good consistence with the PIC simulation results.Furthermore,it is found by PIC simulations that the generation of thermal electrons can be suppressed within the appropriate parameter regime,resulting in a clear THz radiation waveform.The appropriate parameter region is given for generating a low-noise intense THz radiation with peak strength reaching 100 MV/cm,which could find potential applications in nonlinear THz physics.

Numerical Simulation for the Efficiency of the Produced Terahertz Radiation by Two Femtosecond Laser Pulses: Above-Threshold-Ionization

The tunneling ionization (TI) is the most dominated ionization process in the production of terahertz radiation by two femtosecond lasers, although its validity above the ionization threshold of some gases is uncertain. In the present research, we employ a 1D fluid code to simulate the efficiency of the produced terahertz radiation by two femtosecond laser beams in air plasma. Two ionization models in the context of the TI process which are the Ammosov-Delone-Krainov (ADK) for noble gases and its developed molecular ADK (MO-ADK) model for molecular gases are intrinsically used to conduct this study. The main target of the present research is to examine the validity of these models Above-Threshold-Ionization (ATI) of these gases. For this purpose, we simulated the ionization rate and the power spectrum of the produced radiation, in addition we numerically evaluated the efficiency of the produced radiation as function of the input beams intensity at particular energy fraction factor, relative phase and initial pulse duration of these beams. These calculations conducted for a selected noble gas at varying energy levels and a chosen molecular air plasma gas at different quantum numbers. Numerical results near and above the ionization threshold of the selected gases have clarified that the ADK and MO-ADK model are successful valid to study the efficiency of the produced THz radiation at low energy levels and small quantum numbers of the selected gases, meanwhile, with any further increase in the energy level and the quantum number values of these gases, both of the ADK and MO-ADK are failed to correctly analyze the efficiency process and estimate its fundamental parameters.

High-Order Spatial FDTD Solver of Maxwell’s Equations for Terahertz Radiation Production

We applied a spatial high-order finite-difference-time-domain (HO-FDTD) scheme to solve 2D Maxwell’s equations in order to develop a fluid model employed to study the production of terahertz radiation by the filamentation of two femtosecond lasers in air plasma. We examined the performance of the applied scheme, in this context, we implemented the developed model to study selected phenomena in terahertz radiation production, such as the excitation energy and conversion efficiency of the produced THz radiation, in addition to the influence of the pulse chirping on properties of the produced radiation. The obtained numerical results have clarified that the applied HO-FDTD scheme is precisely accurate to solve Maxwell’s equations and sufficiently valid to study the production of terahertz radiation by the filamentation of two femtosecond lasers in air plasma.

Intense Cherenkov-type terahertz electromagnetic radiation from ultrafast laser-plasma interaction

A Cherenkowtype terahertz electromagnetic radiation is revealed, which results efficiently from the collective effects in the time-domain of ultrafast pulsed electron current produced by ultrafast intense laser plasma interaction. The emitted pulse waveform and spectrum, and the dependence of laser pulse parameters on the structure of the radiation field are investigated numerically. The condition of THz radiation generation in this regime and Cherenkov geometry of the radiation field are studied analytically.

Simultaneous all-solid-state multi-wavelength lasers——a promising pump source for generating highly coherent terahertz waves

A diode-end-pumped Nd：YAG dual-wavelength laser operating at 1319 and 1338 nm is demonstrated. The maximum average output power of the quasi-continuous wave linearly polarized dual-wavelength laser is obtained to be 2.1 W at a repetition rate of 50 kHz with an output power instability of less than 0.38% and beam quality factor M^2 of 1.45. Using the two lines, the highly coherent and narrow linewidth terahertz radiation of 3.23 THz can be generated in an organic 4-N, N-dimethylamino-methyl-stilbazolium tosylate （DAST） crystal. Meanwhile, the multi-wavelength red laser at 659.5, 664 and 669 nm is generated by frequency doubling and sum frequency processes in a lithium triborate （LBO） crystal. The average red laser output power is enhanced up to 1.625 W at a repetition rate of 15 kHz with an output power instability of better than 0.53% and beam quality factor M^2 of 6.05. Using the three lines, it is possible to generate the multi-wavelength THz radiation of 3.3, 3.43 and 6.73 THz in an appropriate difference frequency crystal.

High power terahertz pulses generated in intense laser-plasma interactions

Terahertz （THz） radiation has attracted much attention due to its wide potential applications. Though radiation can be generated with various ways, it is still a big challenge to obtain strong tabletop sources. Plasma, with the advantage of no damage limit, is a promising medium to generate strong THz radiation. This review reports recent advances on strong THz radiation generation from low-density gases and high-density solid targets at different laser intensities.

Influence of cutting off position of plasma filament formed by two-color femtosecond laser on terahertz generation

Femtosecond laser filamentation is a method of generating terahertz, which has wide application in terahertz subwavelength resolution imaging. In this paper, the plasma filament formed by femtosecond laser focusing was terminated with an alumina ceramics at different positions and the influence of the cutting off position of the plasma filament on the terahertz wave was studied. The results showed that the terahertz amplitude increases as the position approaches the end of the filament gradually. The stability of amplitude and peak frequency of the terahertz generated by the filament formed by two-color femtosecond laser via a lens with a longer focal length is lower than that through a lens with a shorter focal length, especially the terahertz amplitude at the end of the filament. The study will be helpful for future researchers in the field of THz sub-wavelength imaging utilizing femtosecond laser filament.

Broadband Terahertz Wave Generation from Monolayer Graphene Driven by Few-Cycle Laser Pulse

We theoretically investigate the characteristics of terahertz(THz) radiation from monolayer graphene exposed to normal incident few-cycle laser pulses, by numerically solving the extended semiconductor Bloch equations. Our simulations show that the THz spectra in low frequency regions are highly dependent on the carrier envelope phase(CEP) of driving laser pulses. Using an optimal CEP of few-cycle laser pulses, we can obtain broadband strong THz waves, due to the symmetry breaking of the laser-graphene system. Our results also show that the strength of the THz spectra depend on both the intensity and central wavelength of the laser pulses. The intensity dependence of the THz wave can be described by the excitation rate of graphene, while wavelength dependence can be traced back to the band velocity and the population of graphene. We find that a near single-cycle THz pulse can be obtained from graphene driven by a mid-infrared laser pulse.

High power-efficiency terahertz quantum cascade laser

We demonstrate continuous-wave（CW） high power-efficiency terahertz quantum cascade laser based on semiinsulating surface-plasmon waveguide with epitaxial-side down（Epi-down） mounting process.The performance of the device is analyzed in detail.The laser emits at a frequency of ~3.27 THz and has a maximum CW operating temperature of ~ 70 K.The peak output powers are 177 mW in pulsed mode and 149 mW in CW mode at 10 K for 130-μm-wide Epi-down mounted lasers.The record wall-plug efficiencies in direct measurement are 2.26% and 2.05% in pulsed and CW mode,respectively.

Transmittance investigation on capacitive mesh on thick dielectric substrates as output windows for optically pumped terahertz lasers

This paper reports that an output window for optically pumped terahertz （THz） laser has been fabricated by depositing a capacitive nickel-mesh on a thick high-resistivity silicon substrate （approximating to 5 mm thick）. Unlike the conventional process of depositing a gold film approximating to 100 nm on negative photoresist using electron-beam evaporation, a nickel film approximating to 1.5 μm thick is directly deposited on the clean surface of dielectric substrate using magnetron sputtering and then a positive photoresist is spun onto the nickel metal surface at 6000 r for 60 s. A transmittance spectrum of the output window in a certain frequency range （say, from zero to 1 THz） has been obtained by using THz time domain spectroscopy. Moreover a transmittance spectrum simulated numerically has also been estimated with respect to the output window using the transmission-line model （TLM） containing attenuation component from dielectric substrate. The simulation results show that the TLM can explain well the experimental curve in a certain frequency range from zero to 1 THz. Thus it is demonstrated that the improved optical component can be efficiently used as both output coupler and output window for optically pumped THz lasers.

High performance terahertz laser

Nature Photonics,13,47-53(2019)For any laser,high power,good beam quality,and broad electrical frequency tuning range are deemed as the key assets to possess for various applications.Terahertz(THz)quantum cascade laser is no exception.Since its invention in 2001.

Terahertz generation and detection of LT-GaAs thin film photoconductive antennas excited by lasers of different wavelengths

A new method of generating and detecting terahertz waves is proposed.Low-temperature-grown gallium arsenide(LT-Ga As)thin films are prepared by etching a sacrificial layer(Al As)in a four-layer epitaxial structure constituted with LT-Ga As,Al As,Ga As,and semi-insulating gallium arsenide(SI-Ga As).The thin films are then transferred to clean silicon for fabricating the LT-Ga As thin film antennas.The quality and transmission characteristics of the films are analyzed by an800-nm asynchronous ultrafast time domain spectroscopy system,and the degree of bonding between the film and silicon wafer is determined.Two LT-Ga As thin film antennas for generating and detecting the terahertz waves are tested with a1550-nm femtosecond laser.The terahertz signal is successfully detected,proving the feasibility of this home-made LTGa As photoconductive antennas.This work lays a foundation for studying the mechanism of terahertz wave generation in Ga As photoconductive antennas below the semiconductor band gap.

Electron dynamics of active mode-locking terahertz quantum cascade laser

The pulse generation from active mode-locking terahertz quantum cascade laser is studied by Maxwell-Bloch equations.It is shown that longer dephasing time will lead to multiple pulses generation from the laser.The dependence of output field on modulation length and radio-frequency parameters is obtained.In order to achieve short pulse generation,the DC bias should close to threshold value and modulation length should be shorter than 0.256 mm.The output pulse is unstable and the envelope shows many oscillations in the presence of spatial hole burning,resulting destabilization of mode-locking.

Theoretical investigation on generating terahertz radiation from gas plasma induced by three-color ultrashort lasers

Generation of intense broadband terahertz(THz) waves from gas plasma induced by tri-color ultrashort(fundamental(ω), second harmonic(2ω), and third harmonic(3ω)) laser pulses is theoretically investigated. Simulation results show that the 3ω laser pulse can greatly enhance or suppress the generation of THz wave at different values of relative phase(θ 3) between the 3ω and ω fields. Moreover, the polarities of the generated THz waves can be controlled by changing θ 3,with the relative phase θ 2(between the 2ω and ω fields) fixed to be a certain value. All of our results show that θ 3 plays a key role in the generation process, which promises to control the intensity as well as the polarity of gas plasma-induced THz radiation.

An optically pumped GaN/AlGaN quantum well intersubband terahertz laser

We propose an optically pumped nonpolar GaN/AlGaN quantum well（QW） active region design for terahertz（THz） lasing in the wavelength range of 30 μm～ 40 μm and operating at room temperature.The fast longitudinal optical（LO） phonon scattering in GaN/AlGaN QWs is used to depopulate the lower laser state,and more importantly,the large LO phonon energy is utilized to reduce the thermal population of the lasing states at high temperatures.The influences of temperature and pump intensity on gain and electron densities are investigated.Based on our simulations,we predict that with a sufficiently high pump intensity,a room temperature operated THz laser using a nonpolar GaN/AlGaN structure is realizable.

An equivalent circuit model for terahertz quantum cascade lasers:Modeling and experiments

Terahertz quantum cascade lasers（THz QCLs） emitted at 4.4 THz are fabricated and characterized. An equivalent circuit model is established based on the five-level rate equations to describe their characteristics. In order to illustrate the capability of the model, the steady and dynamic performances of the fabricated THz QCLs are simulated by the model.Compared to the sophisticated numerical methods, the presented model has advantages of fast calculation and good compatibility with circuit simulation for system-level designs and optimizations. The validity of the model is verified by the experimental and numerical results.

The dependence on optical energy of terahertz emission from air plasma induced by two-color femtosecond laser-pulses

The generation of terahertz （THz） emission from air plasma induced by two-color femtosecond laser pulses is studied on the basis of a transient photocurrent model. While the gas is ionized by the two-color femtosecond laser-pulses com- posed of the fundamental and its second harmonic, a non-vanishing directional photoelectron current emerges, radiating a THz electromagnetic pulse. The gas ionization processes at three different laser-pulse energies are simulated, and the corresponding THz waveforms and spectra are plotted. The results demonstrate that, by keeping the laser-pulse width and the relative phase between two pulses invariant when the laser energy is at a moderate value, the emitted THz fields are significantly enhanced with a near-linear dependence on the optical energy.

High-Power and High-Efficiency Operation of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers at 3.3 THz

A high-power and high-effciency GaAs/A1GaAs-based terahertz （THz） quantum cascade laser structure emitting at 3.3 THz is presented. The structure is based on a hybrid bound-to-continuum transition and resonant-phonon extraction active region combined with a semi-insulating surface-plasmon waveguide. By optimizing material structure and device processing, the peak optical output power of 758mW with a threshold current density of 120 A/cm2 and a wall-plug effciency of 0.92% at 10K and 404mW at 77K are obtained in pulsed operation. The maximum operating temperature is as high as llS K. In the cw mode, a record optical output power of 160roW with a threshold current density of 178A/cm2 and a wall-plug efficiency of 1.32% is achieved at 1OK.