Room-Temperature Quantum Cascade Laser: ZnO/Zn1−x Mg x O Versus GaN/Al x Ga1−x N

A ZnO/Zn_1?x Mg _x O-based quantum cascade laser (QCL) is proposed as a candidate for generation of THz radiation at room temperature. The structural and material properties, field dependence of the THz lasing frequency, and generated power are reported for a resonant phonon ZnO/Zn_0.95Mg_0.05O QCL emitting at 5.27 THz. The theoretical results are compared with those from GaN/Al _x Ga_1?x N QCLs of similar geometry. Higher calculated optical output powers [ $ {P}_{\rm{ZnMgO}} $  = 2.89 mW (nonpolar) at 5.27 THz and 2.75 mW (polar) at 4.93 THz] are obtained with the ZnO/Zn_0.95Mg_0.05O structure as compared with GaN/Al_0.05Ga_0.95N QCLs [ $ {P}_{\rm{AlGaN}} $  = 2.37 mW (nonpolar) at 4.67 THz and 2.29 mW (polar) at 4.52 THz]. Furthermore, a higher wall-plug efficiency (WPE) is obtained for ZnO/ZnMgO QCLs [24.61% (nonpolar) and 23.12% (polar)] when compared with GaN/AlGaN structures [14.11% (nonpolar) and 13.87% (polar)]. These results show that ZnO/ZnMgO material is optimally suited for THz QCLs.     

Energy spectrum and thermal properties of a terahertz quantum-cascade laser based on the resonant-phonon depopulation scheme

The dependences of the electronic-level positions and transition oscillator strengths on an applied electric field are studied for a terahertz quantum-cascade laser (THz QCL) with the resonant-phonon depopulation scheme, based on a cascade consisting of three quantum wells. The electric-field strengths for two characteristic states of the THz QCL under study are calculated: (i) “parasitic” current flow in the structure when the lasing threshold has not yet been reached; (ii) the lasing threshold is reached. Heat-transfer processes in the THz QCL under study are simulated to determine the optimum supply and cooling conditions. The conditions of thermocompression bonding of the laser ridge stripe with an n ⁺-GaAs conductive substrate based on Au–Au are selected to produce a mechanically stronger contact with a higher thermal conductivity.     

Real-time imaging using a 4.3-THz quantum cascade laser and a 320 /spl times/ 240 microbolometer focal-plane array

We report the use of a /spl sim/50-mW peak power 4.3-THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) as an illumination source for real-time imaging with a 320 /spl times/ 240 element room-temperature microbolometer focal-plane array detector. The QCL is modulated synchronously with the focal-plane array for differential imaging. Signal-to-noise ratios of /spl sim/340 are achieved at a 20-frame/s acquisition rate, and the optical noise equivalent power of the detector array at 4.3 THz is estimated to be /spl sim/320 pW//spl radic/Hz. Both reflection and transmission mode imaging are demonstrated.     

单面金属波导太赫兹量子级联激光器的天线模型

太赫兹(THz)量子级联激光器(QCL)是理想的固态THz源,其出射光束的远场特性是THz QCL研究中重要的一部分。实验上,THz QCL的远场光斑常呈多瓣或环形结构,用一般的衍射理论难以解释,为此把激光器看成辐射天线,利用电磁场理论,推导了单面金属波导THz QCL辐射远场场分布和光强分布基本公式。对具有典型参数的THz QCL的远场分布进行了计算。数值结果表明：辐射远场光强分布是不对称的环形结构,且随着激光器的腔长变长,环逐渐变密。可见,THz QCL的天线模型给出了与实验观察一致的结果,说明天线模型更适合于THz QCL远场光束的分析。     

Thermal Behavior Investigation of Terahertz Quantum-Cascade Lasers

This paper investigates the heat conduction behavior of a terahertz (THz) quantum-cascade laser (QCL) active region by measuring its temperature using in-situ microprobe band-to-band photoluminescence (PL) technique. The heat resistance of different regions in QCL structure is derived from the temperature measurement. Experimental results show that thinning the substrate from 300 $mu{hbox {m}}$ thick to 140 $mu{hbox {m}}$ lowers thermal resistance of the device by 21%, which helps achieving continuous-wave operation. A thermodynamic differential equation was numerically solved and the temperature profiles and thermal behavior of various regions within actively biased QCL devices under various conditions were obtained. The simulation confirms the measured results that the substrate accounts for 59% of the total device thermal resistance.      

Horn antennas for terahertz quantum cascade lasers

Far-field pattern and extraction efficiency of double metal 1.8 THz quantum cascade lasers (QCL) are controlled using miniaturised horn antennas. Enhancement of the optical output power of ten times and quasi-circular beam pattern are obtained     

量子级联激光器的热管理研究进展

作为目前最重要的中远红外光源,量子级联激光器(QCL)因独特的性能和频率可拓展至太赫兹(THz)的特点,成为研究的热点.对于QCL,影响其输出功率和工作温度的因素较多,其中高效散热是重要的因素.首先对中红外和太赫兹两种QCL的热管理研究进行了归纳和总结;讨论和分析了两者之间的相似和不同点,主要讨论两种激光器固体侧散热的...     

Improving the Out-Coupling of a Metal-Metal Terahertz Frequency Quantum Cascade Laser Through Integration of a Hybrid Mode Section into the Waveguide

A hybrid mode section is integrated into the end of the metal-metal waveguide of a terahertz (THz) frequency quantum cascade laser (QCL) by removing sub-wavelength portions of the top metal layer. This allows a hybrid mode to penetrate into the air, which reduces the effective index of the mode and improves the out-coupling performance at the facet. The transmission of the hybrid section is further increased by ensuring its length fulfills the criterion for constructive interference. These simple modifications to a 2.5-THz metal-metal QCL waveguide result in a significant increase in the output emission power. In addition, simulations show that further improvements in out-coupling efficiency can be achieved for lower frequencies with effective refractive indices close to the geometric mean of the indices of the metal-metal waveguide and air.     

低阈值连续波工作的2.9 THz量子级联激光器

为了获得低阈值连续波工作太赫兹源,采用固源分子束外延技术生长了GaAs/AlGaAs束缚态向连续态跃迁的太赫兹量子级联激光器(QCL)有源区,基于半绝缘-等离子体波导工艺制作了太赫兹量子级联激光器。获得了激光器(腔面未镀高反射膜)的发射光谱和相应的输出特性等性能,其中器件在10 K工作温度、350 mA激励电流下的中心频率为2.93 THz,连续波工作模式的阈值电流密度为156 A/cm2,器件的最大光输出功率为7.84 mW,最高工作温度为62 K。     

Tunable,Grating-Gated,Graphene-On-Polyimide Terahertz Modulators

An electrically switchable graphene terahertz (THz) modulator with a tunable-by-design optical bandwidth is presented and it is exploited to compensate the cavity dispersion of a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Electrostatic gating is achieved by a metal grating used as a gate electrode, with an HfO₂/AlO_x gate dielectric on top. This is patterned on a polyimide layer, which acts as a quarter wave resonance cavity, coupled with an Au reflector underneath. The authors achieve 90% modulation depth of the intensity, combined with a 20 kHz electrical bandwidth in the 1.9–2.7 THz range. The modulator is then integrated with a multimode THz QCL. By adjusting the modulator operational bandwidth, the authors demonstrate that the graphene modulator can partially compensate the QCL cavity dispersion, resulting in an integrated laser behaving as a stable frequency comb over 35% of the operational range, with 98 equidistant optical modes and a spectral coverage ~1.2 THz. This paves the way for applications in the terahertz, such as tunable transformation-optics devices, active photonic components, adaptive and quantum optics, and metrological tools for spectroscopy at THz frequencies.     

Terahertz Transmission Imaging with 2.52 THz Continuous Wave

In this article, two terahertz transmission imaging systems are built with a 2.52 THz continuous wave laser and two types of sensors. One is array scanning system using a 124×124 pyro-electric array camera as the detector; the other is a point-wise scanning system utilizing a Golay cell as the detector. The imaging speed and quality is briefly analyzed. Terahertz （THz） imaging results demonstrate that the array scanning system has higher imaging speed with lower resolution. The point-wise scanning system has higher imaging quality with lower speed.     

The Need of Terahertz Cameras for Standardizing Sensitivity Measurements

The applicability of a blackbody source to sensitivity measurements and calibration of an uncooled Terahertz (THz) focal plane array (FPA) is discussed, but the combination of a blackbody source and a band-pass filter may not be suitable for these purposes. Two ways to measure the minimum detectable power (MDP) of uncooled THz-FPAs are described and compared when used with strong THz sources such as a quantum cascade laser (QCL). The MDP is defined as the radiant power that produces a signal-to-noise ratio of unity in the output of a THz imager that uses a THz-FPA operating at a TV frame rate. One method (method 1) is based on the hypothesis that the beam pattern of the THz source is close to a Gaussian pattern. In another method (method 2), the signal level of the background in an image that does not contain a THz source is subtracted from the signal of the image. While method 2 is more flexible, how large the signals coming from THz source should be, as compared with the noise level, remains to be defined. Finally, based on issues with the current non-uniformity correction (NUC) technique, specifications are proposed for THz source power and wobbling technique to obtain uniform illumination for an ideal NUC technique.     

基于多模速率方程电路建模的太赫兹量子级联激光器稳态性能及输出光谱特性分析

通过改进的三能级多模态速率方程,运用电路建模 方法,建立了太赫兹(THz)量子级联激光器(QCL)的一种等效电路模型。由于基于多模 态效应进行建模,所建模型能够有效表 征多模态效应对THz QCL光电性能的影响。模型中,涉及的非辐射散射时间、自激发射弛豫 时间以及电子逃 逸时间均根据器件有源层结构参数通过自洽数值求解获得。采用所建模型,可运用通用电路 仿真工具实现对 THz QCL光电特性的模拟分析,克服了数值分析方法计算复杂、模拟时间长的缺点。运用电 路仿 真工具PSPICE对2.47THz QCL的稳态特性和输出光谱特性进行了模拟 分析,并讨论了温度变化对器 件阈值电流、输出光功率以及输出频谱的影响,分析结果与已报道的理论和实验结果一致 ,验证了本文方法的适用性和准确性。     

Characterizing the beam properties of terahertz quantum-cascade lasers

Terahertz quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) are very promising radiation sources for many scientific and commercial applications. Shaping and characterizing the beam profile of a QCL is crucial for any of these applications. Usually the beam profile should be as close as possible to a fundamental Gaussian TEM₀₀ mode. In order to completely characterize the laser beam the power and the wavefront have to be measured. We describe methods for characterizing the beam properties of QCLs. Several QCLs with single-plasmon waveguide and emission frequencies between 2 and 5 THz are investigated. The beam profiles of these lasers are shaped into almost fundamental Gaussian modes using dedicated lenses. The beam propagation factor M² is as low as 1.2. The wavefront is measured along the axis of propagation with a THz Hartmann sensor. Its curvature behaves as expected for a Gaussian beam. The applied methods can be transferred to any other THz beam.     

GaAs外延薄膜的As缺位研究

研制太赫兹量子级联激光器的核心是制备以GaAs为代表的量子阱超晶格,在制备GaAs为代表的量子阱超晶格过程中,需要解决As缺位等基础性物理问题。采用激光分子束外延技术制备了GaAs外延薄膜,研究了实验参数对GaAs薄膜性能,特别是As缺位的影响。在线RHEED测试结果表明,GaAs可以实现外延生长。原位XPS和UPS等测试研究结果表明,激光分子束外延技术制备GaAs外延薄膜过程中存在As缺位问题,激光能量对GaAs薄膜中As含量具有明显的影响,要获得理想成分比的GaAs外延薄膜,需要较高的脉冲激光能量(600 mJ)。     

Bit-Interleaved Coded Modulation in the Wideband Regime

The wideband regime of bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) in Gaussian channels is studied. The Taylor expansion of the coded modulation capacity for generic signal constellations at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is derived and used to determine the corresponding expansion for the BICM capacity. Simple formulas for the minimum energy per bit and the wideband slope are given. BICM is found to be suboptimal in the sense that its minimum energy per bit can be larger than the corresponding value for coded modulation schemes. The minimum energy per bit using standard Gray mapping on $M$-PAM or $M^2$ -QAM is given by a simple formula and shown to approach ${-}$ 0.34 dB as $M$ increases. Using the low SNR expansion, a general tradeoff between power and bandwidth in the wideband regime is used to show how a power loss can be traded off against a bandwidth gain.      

Enhancement of CW THz Wave Power Under Noncollinear Phase-Matching Conditions in Difference Frequency Generation

We investigated methods for improvement of continuous-wave (CW) terahertz (THz) output power by laser diode (LD) pumping in noncollinear phase-matched difference frequency generation (DFG). The effects of interaction length and beam spot size of input lasers (near-IR) in GaP crystals were studied. The THz wave power dependence on various sizes of GaP crystals was investigated and it was observed that an output power of 4 nW was obtained with a 20 mm long GaP crystal at 1.5 THz. Also, the THz wave absorption coefficient was dominant for longer GaP crystals at high frequencies (above 2.5 THz). The THz wave power dependence on beam spot size (1.2 mm–300 $mu{rm m}$) of near-IR lasers at 1.62 THz was studied, and an improvement of THz wave power being seen with a 500 $mu{rm m}$ beam spot size, while the beam divergence effect was dominant for beam spot sizes below 500 $mu{rm m}$.      

双波长波片导致的脉冲分离对双色场辐射太赫兹波的影响

由于群速度的偏振依赖性,飞秒激光脉冲入射到双波长波片时出射光脉冲会分离为两个具有一定时间延迟的飞秒激光脉冲。从实验和理论模拟两方面研究了双波长波片导致的脉冲分离现象对飞秒激光双色场成丝辐射太赫兹(THz)波效率的影响。实验结果表明,脉冲分离导致的时间延迟会降低双色场辐射THz波的效率,可通过零级双波长波片缩短分离脉冲之间的时间延迟,有效提高THz波的产生效率。     

On Certain Large Random Hermitian Jacobi Matrices With Applications to Wireless Communications

In this paper we study the spectrum of certain large random Hermitian Jacobi matrices. These matrices are known to describe certain communication setups. In particular, we are interested in an uplink cellular channel which models mobile users experiencing a soft-handoff situation under joint multicell decoding. Considering rather general fading statistics we provide a closed-form expression for the per-cell sum–rate of this channel in high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), when an intra-cell time-division multiple-access (TDMA) protocol is employed. Since the matrices of interest are tridiagonal, their eigenvectors can be considered as sequences with second-order linear recurrence. Therefore, the problem is reduced to the study of the exponential growth of products of two-by-two matrices. For the case where $K$ users are simultaneously active in each cell, we obtain a series of lower and upper bound on the high-SNR power offset of the per-cell sum–rate, which are considerably tighter than previously known bounds.      

THz QCL波导结构研究与光束质量分析

THz量子级联激光器是理想的固态THz源,研究波导结构对激射光特性和远场光束质量的影响,是THz QCL设计中的关键。本文采用有限元方法对THz QCL双面和单面金属波导结构的限制和损耗特性进行分析,给出了限制因子、波导损耗和阈值增益随波导结构、激射波长等参数的变化关系。仿真实验结果表明:与单面金属波导相比,双面金属波导对光具有更好的限制作用,损耗也比较小,更适合做有源区的波导限制结构。在计算出波导中光场分布的基础上,又利用矢量衍射理论分析了THz QCL的光束质量,给出了不同波导宽度时出射光束的远场光束宽度和远场发散角,从应用方面为QCL的设计提供了一定参考。