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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.