Waveguide Simulation of a THz Si/SiGe Quantum Cascade Laser

The waveguide design is one of the most important parts in a terahertz quantum cascade laser（QCL）. Si/SiGe QCL waveguides, based on the Drude model and finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method, are designed by the traditional refractive index waveguide structure, the single-sided metal structure, the double-metal clad structure, and a novel metal/metal silicide structure. The metal/metal silicide structure, showing high modal confinement,is convenient in process engineering and is expected to be a viable waveguide solution for Si/SiGe QCLs in the THz range.

Design and optimization of terahertz directional coupler based on hybrid-cladding hollow waveguide with low confinement loss

We propose a design and optimization for directional coupling in terahertz hybrid-cladding hollow waveguide. It is composed of two square hollow waveguides which touch each other and are surrounded by a metallic layer. By employing the finite element method, the coupling performance and loss property are numerically investigated. Numerical results indi- cate that this directional coupler with hybrid-cladding can realize ultra-narrow-band coupling; it provides a low confinement loss performance： the confinement loss can reach as low as 6.27 × 10-5 cm- 1. Moreover, the further analyses of configura- tion and performance show that confinement loss and frequency range shift for the low-confinement-loss frequency regime can be realized and optimized by appropriately tuning the thickness values of the metallic and dielectric layer. In addition, through the further analysis of coupling performance, the possibilities of realizing ultra-narrow-band couplings in different frequency ranges are demonstrated. It is a powerful candidate for high precision optical fiber sensing, and communication in terahertz splitting fields.

Low-loss terahertz waveguide with InAs-graphene-SiC structure

We demonstrate a low-loss terahertz waveguide based on the InAs-graphene-SiC structure. By analyzing the terahertz waveguide proposed in this paper, we can obtain that it is the characteristic of a low transmission loss coefficient （αloss 0.55 dB/m） for fundamental mode （LP01） when the incident frequency is larger than 3.0 THz. The critical radii of the inside and outside cylinders have been found for the high-quality transmission. The large inside radius and the high transmission frequency result in a fiat transmission loss coefficient curve. As a strictly two-dimensional material, the double graphene surface rings perform better to improve the quality of transmission mode. These results provide a new idea for the research of the long-distance THz waveguide.

0.22 THz Waveguide Bandpass Filter with High Stop-Band Suppression

A terahertz（THz） waveguide band-pass filter using an iris inductive window coupled structure was designed and fabricated.The filter was designed at0.22 THz with a pass band of 20 GHz.The measured results show that the center frequency is 0.218 THz with a pass band of 0.205 THz to 0.231 THz,the minimum insertion loss is 1.26 d B at 0.224 THz,and the return loss is less than 13.1 d B.The stop-band suppression is65.6 d B at 0.193 THz and 51.8 d B at 0.243 THz,respectively,which means a good performance of high stop-band suppression.A good agreement exists between the measured S-parameters and the simulated ones,especially in the upper band.The proposed THz waveguide filter has potential applications in THz communications.

Terahertz multi-metal-wire hybrid-cladding hollow waveguide for refractive index sensing

We propose a design of terahertz refractive index sensing based on the multi-metal-wire（MMW） hybrid-cladding hollow waveguide. The proposed terahertz hybrid-cladding hollow waveguide comprises one air core in the center surrounding MMW surrounded dielectric. The central air core is used for filling lossless measurands and transmitting terahertz light. In particular, the refractive index sensing is realized by measuring the mode field area（MFA） variation of radially polarized mode. The modal effective refractive index, mode field intensity distribution, and mode field area properties responding to the measurand refractive indexes for different operating frequencies and structure dimensions are investigated, respectively.Simulations show that the proposed terahertz refractive index sensor can realize easily the measurement of the measurand refractive index. Meanwhile, the effects of operating frequency and structure parameters on sensitivity and measurement accuracy are also studied. In view of the trade-off between sensitivity and measurement accuracy, the reasonable choice of the operating frequency and structure parameters can optimize appropriately the sensitivity and measurement accuracy, and the sensitivity can reach approximately 0.585 mm^2/RIU（RIU is short for refraction index units） with the proper frequency and structure parameter.

Enhanced Terahertz Fingerprint Detection beyond Refractive Index Sensing in a Periodic Silicon Waveguide Cavity

Resonance shifting due to refractive index changes is used quite often in terahertz sensing, but it does not show the advantages of substance identification of terahertz technology. Different from that approach, we explored the use of a cavity to enhance the sensitivity of terahertz sensing while retaining the original capability of substance identification. The defect mode of a one-dimensional photonic crystal cavity composed of periodic holes etched into a silicon wire wavegnide was investigated for this purpose. The resonance of the defect mode was designed to match one characteristic absorption frequency of the sample. Due to the high dependence of the defect mode transmission on the material loss, the transmission sensitivity to the quantity of target was amplified significantly. The detection of alactose was used as an example, which demonstrates steady detection with its thickness of a few microns.

Application of Ray Model for Terahertz Transmission Simulations of Tube Waveguide

Terahertz (THz) transmission simulations play an important role in THz technology researches, especially for the structural design of a THz waveguide. Ray model takes into account both structure parameter of waveguide and the divergence angle of beam light and could be an alternative way for THz transmission behavior simulations. In this paper, the ray model is used to calculate the transmission loss of tube waveguide, and the simulated transmission losses are presented to compare with the results calculated by COMSOL. The suitable THz frequency range of ray model is discussed by analyzing the transmission loss spectra of tube waveguides with various core sizes. The credibility of ray model on terahertz transmission simulations is demonstrated based on the experimental results tested by THz-TDS and calculated results.

Design of a Broadband E-Plane Power Combiner Based on Quarter-Arc Bent Rectangular Waveguides for Sub-THz and THz Wave

A method of designing an E-plane power combiner composed of two quarter-arc bent rectangular waveguides is proposed for sub-THz and THz waves. The quarter-arc bent-waveguide power combiner has a simple geometry which is easy to design and fabricate. By HFSS codes, the physical mechanism and performance of the power combiner are analyzed, and the relationship between the output characteristics and the structure/operating parameters is given. Simulation results show that our power combiner is suitable for the combining of two equalpower and reversed-phase signals, the bandwidth of the combiner is wide and can be adjusted by the radius of the quarter-arc, and the isolation performance of the combiner can be improved by adding thin film resistive septa at the junction of two quarter-arc bent waveguides. Meanwhile, an approximate method based on the analytic geometrical analysis is given to design this power combiner for different frequency bands.

A High Performance Terahertz Waveguide Detector Based on a Low-Barrier Diode

A Schottky barrier diode with low-barrier is presented, based on which a terahertz waveguide detector working at 500-600 GHz is designed and fabricated. By using the InGaAs/InP material system, the feature of the low barrier is obtained which greatly improves the performance of the detector. The measured typical voltage responsivity is about 900 V/W at 50-560 OHz and is about 400 V/W at 560 600 GHz. The proposed broadband waveguide detector has the characteristics of simple structure, compact size, low cost and high performance, and can be used in a variety of applications such as imaging, moleeuIar spectroscopy and atmospheric remote sensing.

Progress in Terahertz Waveguides

This paper summarizes the recent progress in Terahertz(THz) waveguides. Many THz waveguides of various sorts have been presented and examined, including dielectric THz waveguides, metal THz waveguides, THz fiber and photonic crystal THz waveguides. Their advantages and limitations are stated, and the perspective of research on Terahertz waveguides is discussed.

Theoretical research on terahertz wave generation from planar waveguide by optimized cascaded difference frequency generation

A novel scheme for high-efficiency terahertz(THz)wave generation based on optimized cascaded difference frequency generation(OCDFG)with planar waveguide is presented.The phase mismatches of each-order cascaded difference frequency generation(CDFG)are modulated by changing the thickness of the waveguide,resulting in a decrement of phase mismatches in cascaded Stokes processes and an increment of phase mismatches in cascaded anti-Stokes processes simultaneously.The modulated phase mismatches enhance the cascaded Stokes processes and suppress the cascaded anti-Stokes processes simultaneously,yielding energy conversion efficiencies over 25%from optical wave to THz wave at 100 K.

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.

THz-Wave Generation from GaP THz Photonic Crystal Waveguides under Difference-Frequency Mixing

GaP terahertz (THz) two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PC) waveguides with line defects were fabricated using inductively-coupled plasma reactive-ion etching (ICP-RIE) in Ar/Cl2 gas chemistries. THz-wave generation from the fabricated PC waveguides was demonstrated under collinear phase-matched difference-frequency generation (DFG), using Cr:Forsterite (Cr:F) lasers as the incident source. We compared the THz-wave output characteristics of the PC waveguides with that of GaP planar waveguides. The collinear phase-matching conditions in the DFG process were satisfied for 300- and 500-μm-wide PC waveguide structures at 0.7 and 0.6 THz, respectively. The additional output peaks that appeared near the edge of the photonic band gap, around 0.5 THz, were attributed to the guiding modes in the PC waveguide;no such peaks appeared in the non-patterned ridge waveguides. These experimental results suggest that the phonon-polariton confinement in THz-PC waveguides based on the GaP crystal could be used to enhance the nonlinear optical effect for THz-wave generation.

Propagation Modeling and Characteristic Analysis of Terahertz Waves via High Altitude Platforms

Satellite-to-ground terahertz communication is limited by the power of signal source and antenna gain level,and has large path loss,which is difficult to implement.In this paper,a feasible scheme of satellite-to-ground terahertz communication using High Altitude Platforms(HAPs)as relay is presented,and the path loss on terahertz communication links is modeled and analyzed.Combined with the path loss model,the transmission loss along HAP-to-ground paths under different seasons and complex weather environment in Ali,Xizang,China is calculated.The results show that the transmission characteristics of terahertz waves in winter and summer are significantly different,mainly reflected in the number and bandwidth of usable atmospheric windows.Furthermore,the additional attenuation caused by the typical sand dust and ice cloud environment on terahertz band can reach 6.1 dB and 1.9 dB at the maximum respectively.With the aid of high gain antenna,the usable communication frequencies of the HAP-to-ground links in winter are significantly more than those in summer.When the transmitting and receiving antenna gain is 40 dBi respectively,the usable communication frequency can reach 1.35 THz in winter,while it is limited to less than 1 THz in summer,up to 0.493 THz.

THz技术在农产品/食品品质检测中的应用

农产品/食品的质量和品质问题越来越受人们关注。探索实际可行的农产品/食品的无损检测与品质评估技术正在成为研究热点。太赫兹(THz)辐射是位于中红外和微波波段之间的一段电磁波,具有非常重要的科学研究和应用价值。长期以来由于缺乏可行的THz波产生方法与探测手段,该波段相关领域的研究滞缓。THz光谱传感和成像技术是THz波的两个主要应用技术。THz光谱检测技术作为一种新型检测技术能够获得传统检测无法获得的信息。近十几年来,THz波用于来研究固、液、气相等各种物质的光电特性、分子内部振动和组成信息,在生物分析、医疗诊断、安全检测、环境控制等领域,THz技术显示出广阔的应用前景。文章介绍了THz波的主要性质、THz波检测技术的特点,论述了THz技术在农产品、食品质量与品质检测中的最新进展及其应用的潜力。

0.22THz折叠波导行波管初步实验研究

探索性试验了多种微加工技术加工设计频率0.22THz的折叠波导慢波结构,最终选择了微铣削工艺进行加工,并测试了微铣削工艺加工的WR4标准直波导的损耗特性,得到了0.22THz电磁波在无氧铜中传播时材料的相对电导率约为3.2×107S/m。以此为基础设计和制得了国内第一支0.22THz折叠波导行波管,经过测试和标定得到输出功率大于100mW,带宽3.5GHz的初步实验结果。

基于模糊模式识别的爆炸物THz光谱识别

运用太赫兹(THz)光谱特性对爆炸物进行检测和识别,是现代检测技术研究的一个热点。在对多种单质炸药和混合炸药及几种可能与它们混淆的物质的太赫兹特征吸收光谱进行研究的基础上,提取它们在0.2～2.2THz频率范围内4个相对较强的特征吸收峰作为分类识别的特征参数,用模糊模式识别方法对它们的太赫兹特征吸收谱进行了分类和识别。首先,用基于模糊等价关系的模糊聚类分析方法对这几种物质的太赫兹特征吸收谱进行聚类训练,获得样品分类并形成标准太赫兹吸收光谱模型库;然后,选用与训练样本主体成分相同的2种物品作为待识别对象,采用基于择近原则的模糊模式识别方法进行了成功识别。研究结果表明,基于模糊聚类分析的模糊模式识别方法对太赫兹吸收谱具有较强的相似特征聚类功能和较高的识别率,为太赫兹光谱技术用于爆炸物的检测和识别提供了一种有效的方法。

折叠波导结构的THz振荡辐射源研究

以折叠波导为基本结构的真空电子器件,具有大功率、宽频带和制造成本低的优点,本文通过深入研究折叠波导振荡器的冷腔结构、色散方程和耦合阻抗,给出了可以产生THz的折叠波导振荡器的基本结构.并利用三维PIC粒子模拟软件进行了三维模拟计算,结果显示,在输入电子注电压为20.6kV,电流为0.12A,磁场为3000高斯时,可得到频率为0.1THz,平均输出功率174W,互作用效率大于7%.

THz信号处理与分析的研究现状和发展展望

本文对THz信号的特点、THz信号的产生技术、THz信号的探测技术、THz时域光谱(THz-TDS)技术、THz信号的处理技术,以及THz信号应用技术等当前的研究现状进行了综述,并对未来可能的发展做了展望.

0.14THz行波管的设计与实验研究

以折叠波导作为为慢波结构进行研究分析,利用三维电磁仿真软件HFSS和CST,对0.14THz行波管模型进行了折叠波导慢波结构、电子光学系统和输入输出窗等的模拟设计,并完成了整管的PIC注波互作用的仿真计算与优化。进行了整管的焊接工艺设计和热测实验,研制出的样管在电压15.4kV、电流17.4mA下,脉冲工作输出最大功率为8.3 W,输出中心频率为140.8GHz,最大增益为28dB,-3dB带宽为2.9GHz。