Narrow-linewidth ultra-broadband terahertz sources based on difference-frequency generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

Seungyong Jung; Yifan Jiang; Jae Hyun Kim; Luigi Consolino; Saverio Bartalini; Paolo De Natale; Miriam Vitello; Kazuue Fujita; Masahiro Hitaka; Akio Ito; Jeremy Kirch; Dan Botez; Frederic Demmerle; Gerhard Boehm; Markus-Christian Amann; Mikhail A. Belkin

doi:10.1117/12.2256099

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20 February 2017 Narrow-linewidth ultra-broadband terahertz sources based on difference-frequency generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

Seungyong Jung, Yifan Jiang, Jae Hyun Kim, Luigi Consolino, Saverio Bartalini, Paolo De Natale, Miriam Vitello, Kazuue Fujita, Masahiro Hitaka, Akio Ito, Jeremy Kirch, Dan Botez, Frederic Demmerle, Gerhard Boehm, Markus-Christian Amann, Mikhail A. Belkin

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Proceedings Volume 10123, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers XVI; 1012315 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2256099
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We discuss novel approaches to improve the tuning bandwidth and power output of terahertz (THz) sources based on difference-frequency generation (DFG) in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). Using a double Littrow external-cavity system, we experimentally demonstrate that both doubly-resonant terms and optical rectification terms in the expression for the intersubband optical nonlinearity contribute to THz generation in DFG-QCLs and report THz DFG-QCLs with the optimized optical rectification terms. We also demonstrate a hybrid DFG-QCL device on silicon that enables significant improvement on THz out-coupling efficiency and results in more than 5 times higher THz output power compared to that of a reference device on its native semi-insulating InP substrate. Finally, we report for the first time the THz emission linewidth of a free-running continuous-wave THz DFG-QCL.

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Seungyong Jung, Yifan Jiang, Jae Hyun Kim, Luigi Consolino, Saverio Bartalini, Paolo De Natale, Miriam Vitello, Kazuue Fujita, Masahiro Hitaka, Akio Ito, Jeremy Kirch, Dan Botez, Frederic Demmerle, Gerhard Boehm, Markus-Christian Amann, and Mikhail A. Belkin "Narrow-linewidth ultra-broadband terahertz sources based on difference-frequency generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers", Proc. SPIE 10123, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers XVI, 1012315 (20 February 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2256099

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