Terahertz radiation of a butterfly-shaped photoconductive antenna(invited)

The terahertz(THz) far-field radiation properties of a butterfly-shaped photoconductive antenna(PCA) were experimentally studied using a home-built THz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS) setup.To distinguish the contribution of in-gap photocurrent and antenna structure to far-field radiation,polarization-dependent THz field was measured and quantified as the illuminating laser beam moved along the bias field within the gap region of electrodes. The result suggests that, although the far-field THz radiation originates from the in-gap photocurrent, the antenna structure of butterfly-shaped PCA dominates the overall THz radiation. In addition, to explore the impact of photoconductive material,radiation properties of butterfly-shaped PCAs fabricated on both low-temperature-grown GaAs(LT-GaAs) and semi-insulating GaAs(Si-GaAs) were characterized and compared. Consistent with previous experiments, it is observed that while Si-GaAs-based PCA can emit higher THz field than LT-GaAs-based PCA at low laser power, it would saturate more severely as laser power increased and eventually be surpassed by LT-GaAs-based PCA. Beyond that, it is found the severe saturation effect of Si-GaAs was due to the longer carrier lifetime and higher carrier mobility, which was confirmed by the numerical simulation.

Optimization of wide band mesa-type enhanced terahertz photoconductive antenna at 1550 nm

A mesa-type enhanced InGaAs/InAIAs multilayer heterostructure （MLHS） terahertz photoconductive antenna （PCA） at 1550 nm is demonstrated on an InP substrate. The InGaAs/InAIAs superlattice multilayer heterostructures are grown and studied with different temperatures and thickness ratios of InGaAs/InAIAs. The PCAs with different gap sizes and pad sizes are fabricated and characterized. The PCAs are evaluated as THz emitters in a THz time domain spectrometer and we measure the optimized THz bandwidth in excess of 2 THz.

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.

Efficient Terahertz Photoconductive Emitters with Improved Electrode Structures

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of two new types of terahertz photoconductive emitters. One has an asymmetric four-contact electrode structure and the other has an arc-shaped electrode structure, which are all modified from a traditional strip line antenna. Numerical simulations and real experiments confirm the good performance of the proposed antennas. An amplitude increase of about 40% is experimentally observed for the terahertz signals generated from the new structures. The special electrode structure and its induced local bias field enhancement are responsible for this radiation efficiency improvement. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of developing highly efficient terahertz photoconductive emitters by optimizing the electrode structure.

A new nonlinear photoconductive terahertz radiation source based on photon-activated charge domain quenched mode

We present a high-performance terahertz(THz)radiation source based on the photon-activated charge domain(PACD)quenched mode of GaAs photoconductive antennas(GaAs PCA).The THz radiation characteristics of the GaAs PCA under different operating modes are studied.Compared with the linear mode,the intensity of THz wave radiated by the GaAs PCA can be greatly enhanced due to the avalanche multiplication effect of carriers in the PACD quenched mode.The results show that when the carrier multiplication ratio is 16.92,the peak-to-peak value of THz field radiated in the PACD quenched mode increases by as much as about 4.19 times compared to the maximum values in the linear mode.

光电导天线材料对辐射太赫兹波特性的模拟分析

光电导天线是太赫兹时域光谱系统中普遍使用的宽带太赫兹辐射源,天线衬底材料对其辐射太赫兹波特性至关重要。目前广泛使用的光电导天线材料是第二代半导体材料GaAs,而第三代半导体材料具有更大的禁带宽度,对提高天线辐射太赫兹波的功率更有利。本文利用大孔径光电导天线的电流瞬冲模型,对常用光电导天线材料(SI-GaAs、LT-GaAs)和未来有望应用于光电导天线的第三代半导体材料(ZnSe、GaN、SiC)辐射太赫兹波的特性进行了仿真研究,结果表明在相同偏置电场和各自最高光通量触发下,LT-GaAs天线辐射太赫兹波的幅值最高、频谱最宽;第三代半导体材料制备的天线可以承受更高的偏置电场,在各自的最大偏置电场下辐射太赫兹波的强度远远大于GaAs天线。本工作对研制新型的第三代半导体光电导天线提供了理论指导。

全光纤耦合式太赫兹近场探针光谱成像系统

通过对太赫兹光电导探针天线与飞秒倍频光路进行光纤模块化封装,并结合光纤耦合式太赫兹光电导天线辐射源,以及自主研制设计的光纤飞秒激光光源和光纤式高速光学延时线,开发了一种全光纤耦合式太赫兹近场探针光谱成像系统,其光谱范围覆盖0.1~2.0 THz,动态范围达到60 dB,光谱采样速度高达0.1 s/谱,近场成像分辨率优于20μm的全光纤耦合式太赫兹近场探针光谱成像系统。得益于整套系统的全光纤结构设计,太赫兹辐射源和探针式探测器之间可以根据测量需求灵活调节而不需要重新校准光路,极大地提高了系统的工作稳定性和使用方便性。该研究为太赫兹科学研究提供了一种高性能且实用性强的太赫兹近场光谱成像测量系统。

太赫兹波光电导天线探测器的研究进展

对国内外利用光电导天线探测器检测偏振太赫兹波进行了归纳总结,发现国内外对用于太赫兹偏振检测的光电导天线探测器的研发各有优缺点,但不能同时满足高效率、高精度、高信噪比的要求。因此,通过对光电导天线阵列探测器的有源区域、相邻阵元之间的反向电流和探测准确性等进行国内外研究现状和发展动态梳理,分析光电导阵列探测器在太赫兹偏振检测中所遇到的关键问题,为光电导天线阵列探测器的研发和应用提供一定的参考。

基于整形飞秒激光脉冲泵浦光电导天线的宽带太赫兹辐射研究

飞秒激光脉冲泵浦光电导天线可以产生宽带太赫兹脉冲辐射。采用具有缓慢上升--快速下降整形脉冲包络的飞秒激光脉冲与光电导天线作用产生宽带太赫兹辐射,基于Drude-Lorentz模型计算了太赫兹辐射的规律,并讨论了激光脉冲脉宽和半导体载流子寿命对太赫兹辐射产生的影响。研究结果表明,尽管这种整形飞秒激光脉冲的能量有所损失,但是这种泵浦方式能够比普通飞秒激光脉冲泵浦光电导天线产生更宽的太赫兹辐射。该结果为实验上基于光电导天线产生宽带太赫兹脉冲辐射提供了新的思路。

太赫兹天线(二)

文章叙述了太赫兹通信天线的新发展,包括光电导天线,芯片上天线和超材料、超平面的应用等,并给出了一些具体例子。

Intense terahertz generation from photoconductive antennas

In this paper,we review the past and recent works on generating intense terahertz(THz)pulses from photoconductive antennas(PCAs).We will focus on two types of large-aperture photoconductive antenna(LAPCA)that can generate high-intensity THz pulses(a)those with large-aperture dipoles and(b)those with interdigitated electrodes.We will first describe the principles of THz generation from PCAs.The critical parameters for improving the peak intensity of THz radiation from LAPCAs are summarized.We will then describe the saturation and limitation process of LAPCAs along with the advantages and disadvantages of working with widebandgap semiconductor substrates.Then,we will explain the evolution of LAPCA with interdigitated electrodes,which allows one to reduce the photoconductive gap size,and thus obtain higher bias fields while applying lower voltages.We will also describe recent achievements in intense THz pulses generated by interdigitated LAPCAs based on wide-bandgap semiconductors driven by ampli-fied lasers.Finally,we will discuss the future perspectives of THz pulse generation using LAPCAs.

基于新电极的太赫兹光电导天线设计

提出了分别采用凹形电极和新叉指形电极的两种光电导天线,其电极产生的静电场电场强度是中间小而周围大,而激光光斑的光强是中间大而周围小,因此提高了衬底的抗击穿能力和光电流。相比于采用传统带状线电极的光电导天线,采用凹形电极的光电导天线产生的光电流提升了62%;相比于采用传统叉指形电极的光电导天线,采用新叉指形电极的光电导天线产生的光电流提升了41%。所设计的两种光电导天线都具有结构简单、便于加工且易与其他提高辐射功率的技术相结合的优点,其在成像、生物传感、通信和光电探测等领域有着重要的潜在应用价值。

InGaAs/InAlAs光电导太赫兹发射天线的制备与表征

光电导天线作为太赫兹时域光谱仪产生与探测太赫兹辐射的关键部件,具有重要的科研与工业价值。本文采用分子束外延(MBE)方法制备InGaAs/InAlAs超晶格作为1550 nm光电导天线的光吸收材料,使用原子力显微镜、光致发光、高分辨X射线衍射等方式验证了材料的高生长质量;通过优化制备条件得到了侧面平整的台面结构光电导天线。制备的光电导太赫兹发射天线在太赫兹时域光谱系统中实现了4.5 THz的频谱宽度,动态范围为45 dB。

层级人工等离激元结构增强的太赫兹光电导天线(特邀)(英文)

为提高太赫兹光电导天线输出效率,提出了一种基于层级人工等离激元结构的光电导天线的设计方法。层级人工等离激元结构由纳米尺度金属块阵列和微米尺度周期栅格结合而成,理论与仿真结果表明,前者通过人工局域表面等离激元谐振效应可提高光子-电子转换效率,后者则利用人工表面等离激元结构基模的禁带和高阶模式与电流源模式之间的正交性增强了光电导天线的垂直方向性。集成了层级人工等离激元结构的光电导天线结合了两种结构的优点,数值计算结果表明,其输出效率优于分别采用两种结构的方案。相较于未改进的光电导天线,层级人工等离激元结构在较宽频带范围内(0.86~1.51 THz)实现了光电导天线垂直方向辐射功率密度的提高。

Terahertz generation from Si3N4 covered photoconductive dipole antenna

We observe enhanced terahertz (THz) radiation generated from a Si3N4 film-coated GaAs photoconductive dipole antenna. Compared to an uncoated antenna with identical electrode geometry and optical excitation power, the Si3N4 film-coated antenna has a higher effective DC resistance and larger breakdown voltage. As a result, the peak amplitude of generated THz radiation is significantly enhanced due to the Si3N4 film-coated layer.

Time behavior of field screening effects in small-size GaAs photoconductive terahertz antenna

The field screening effects in small-size GaAs photoconductive （PC） antenna are investigated via the well-known pump and probe terahertz （THz） generation technique. The peak amplitude of the THz pulses excited by the probe laser pulse as a function of the pump-probe time delay was measured. An equivalent-circuit model was used to simulate the experimental data. Based on the good agreement between the results of simulation and experiment, the time behavior of the radiation and space-charge fields was simulated. The results show that the spacecharge screening dominantly determines the device response in the whole time, while the radiation filed screening plays a key role in initial time which strongly affects the peak THz field. The parameter analysis was performed, which may be valuable on the optimum design for the antenna as a THz emitter.

Terahertz radiation enhancement in photoconductive antennas with embedded split-ring resonators

This Letter proposes a novel method for enhancing terahertz(THz) radiation from microstructure photoconductive antennas(MSPCA). We present two types of MSPCA, which contain split-ring resonators(SRRs) and dipole photoconductive antennas(D-PCAs). The experimental results reveal that when the femtosecond laser is pumping onto the split position of the SRR, the maximum THz radiation power is enhanced by 92 times compared to pumping at the electrode edge of the D-PCA. Two π phase shifts occur as the pumping laser propagates from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. Analysis shows that photoinduced carrier charges move within the split position of the SRR.

THz射线产生技术及应用最新进展

THz电磁脉冲是由超短激光脉冲选通半导体光导开关后产生的超宽频带电磁辐射 ,在很多基础研究领域、工业应用领域以及军事领域中有相当重要的应用。作者就THz电磁脉冲的产生技术、探测技术作了较全面的评述。对其若干重要应用研究成果包括THz时域光谱技术(TDS)、THz二维成像技术等也进行了分析。

用飞秒激光触发GaAs光电导体产生THz电磁波的研究

报道了用半绝缘 Ga As材料研制的光电导偶极天线在飞秒激光脉冲触发下辐射 THz电磁波的实验结果 .Ga As光电导偶极芯片的两个欧姆接触电极间隙为 3m m,采用 Si3N4 薄膜绝缘保护 ,在 5 4 0 V直流偏置下被波长80 0 nm,脉宽 14 fs,重复频率 75 MHz,平均功率 130 m W的飞秒激光脉冲触发时产生 THz电磁波 .用电光取样测量得到了 THz电磁脉冲的时域波形和频谱分布 .THz电磁波的辐射峰值位于 0 .5 THz左右 ,频谱宽度大于 2 THz,脉冲宽度约为 1ps.

基于光导开关脉冲偏置电压的太赫兹时域光谱系统

利用光导开关产生脉冲偏置电压的方式改进了基于光电导天线的太赫兹时域光谱系统。在分析光电导天线产生THz波原理的基础上,重点研究了目前基于光电导天线的太赫兹时域光谱系统存在的问题,探讨了解决斩波器引起的机械噪声和光电导天线脉冲偏置电压之间矛盾的途径。最后,通过对光导开关的特性测试,提出了利用高压直流电源、光导开关和纳秒激光器产生0～9kV脉冲偏置电压消除机械噪声、提高脉冲偏置电压幅度的方法,改进了太赫兹时域光谱系统。