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Sample records for terahertz quantum-cascade lasers

  1. Design strategy for terahertz quantum dot cascade lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnett, Benjamin A; Williams, Benjamin S

    2016-10-31

    The development of quantum dot cascade lasers has been proposed as a path to obtain terahertz semiconductor lasers that operate at room temperature. The expected benefit is due to the suppression of nonradiative electron-phonon scattering and reduced dephasing that accompanies discretization of the electronic energy spectrum. We present numerical modeling which predicts that simple scaling of conventional quantum well based designs to the quantum dot regime will likely fail due to electrical instability associated with high-field domain formation. A design strategy adapted for terahertz quantum dot cascade lasers is presented which avoids these problems. Counterintuitively, this involves the resonant depopulation of the laser's upper state with the LO-phonon energy. The strategy is tested theoretically using a density matrix model of transport and gain, which predicts sufficient gain for lasing at stable operating points. Finally, the effect of quantum dot size inhomogeneity on the optical lineshape is explored, suggesting that the design concept is robust to a moderate amount of statistical variation.

  2. Experimental investigation of terahertz quantum cascade laser with variable barrier heights

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Aiting; Vijayraghavan, Karun; Belkin, Mikhail A., E-mail: mbelkin@ece.utexas.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78758 (United States); Matyas, Alpar; Jirauschek, Christian [Institute for Nanoelectronics, Technische Universität München, D-80333 Munich (Germany); Wasilewski, Zbig R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G (Canada)

    2014-04-28

    We report an experimental study of terahertz quantum cascade lasers with variable barrier heights based on the Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1–x}As/GaAs material system. Two new designs are developed based on semiclassical ensemble Monte Carlo simulations using state-of-the-art Al{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}As/GaAs three-quantum-well resonant phonon depopulation active region design as a reference. The new designs achieved maximum lasing temperatures of 188 K and 172 K, as compared to the maximum lasing temperature of 191 K for the reference structure. These results demonstrate that terahertz quantum cascade laser designs with variable barrier heights provide a viable alternative to the traditional active region designs with fixed barrier composition. Additional design space offered by using variable barriers may lead to future improvements in the terahertz quantum cascade laser performance.

  3. Linewidth and tuning characteristics of terahertz quantum cascade lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkan, A; Tittel, F K; Mittleman, D M; Dengler, R; Siegel, P H; Scalari, G; Ajili, L; Faist, J; Beere, H E; Linfield, E H; Davies, A G; Ritchie, D A

    2004-03-15

    We have measured the spectral linewidths of three continuous-wave quantum cascade lasers operating at terahertz frequencies by heterodyning the free-running quantum cascade laser with two far-infrared gas lasers. Beat notes are detected with a GaAs diode mixer and a microwave spectrum analyzer, permitting very precise frequency measurements and giving instantaneous linewidths of less than -30 kHz. Characteristics are also reported for frequency tuning as the injection current is varied.

  4. A hybrid plasmonic waveguide terahertz quantum cascade laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Degl' Innocenti, Riccardo, E-mail: rd448@cam.ac.uk; Shah, Yash D.; Wallis, Robert; Klimont, Adam; Ren, Yuan; Jessop, David S.; Beere, Harvey E.; Ritchie, David A. [Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom)

    2015-02-23

    We present the realization of a quantum cascade laser emitting at around 2.85 THz, based on a hybrid plasmonic waveguide with a low refractive index dielectric cladding. This hybrid waveguide design allows the performance of a double-metal waveguide to be retained, while improving the emission far-field. A set of lasers based on the same active region material were fabricated with different metal layer thicknesses. A detailed characterization of the performance of these lasers revealed that there is an optimal trade-off that yields the best far-field emission and the maximum temperature of operation. By exploiting the pure plasmonic mode of these waveguides, the standard operation conditions of a double-metal quantum cascade laser were retrieved, such that the maximum operating temperature of these devices is not affected by the process. These results pave the way to realizing a class of integrated devices working in the terahertz range which could be further exploited to fabricate terahertz on-chip circuitry.

  5. Terahertz quantum cascade laser as local oscillator in a heterodyne receiver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hübers, Heinz-Wilhelm; Pavlov, S; Semenov, A; Köhler, R; Mahler, L; Tredicucci, A; Beere, H; Ritchie, D; Linfield, E

    2005-07-25

    Terahertz quantum cascade lasers have been investigated with respect to their performance as a local oscillator in a heterodyne receiver. The beam profile has been measured and transformed in to a close to Gaussian profile resulting in a good matching between the field patterns of the quantum cascade laser and the antenna of a superconducting hot electron bolometric mixer. Noise temperature measurements with the hot electron bolometer and a 2.5 THz quantum cascade laser yielded the same result as with a gas laser as local oscillator.

  6. Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser With Efficient Coupling and Beam Profile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattopadhyay, Goutam; Kawamura, Jonathan H.; Lin, Robert H.; Williams, Benjamin

    2012-01-01

    Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are unipolar semiconductor lasers, where the wavelength of emitted radiation is determined by the engineering of quantum states within the conduction band in coupled multiple-quantum-well heterostructures to have the desired energy separation. The recent development of terahertz QCLs has provided a new generation of solid-state sources for radiation in the terahertz frequency range. Terahertz QCLs have been demonstrated from 0.84 to 5.0 THz both in pulsed mode and continuous wave mode (CW mode). The approach employs a resonant-phonon depopulation concept. The metal-metal (MM) waveguide fabrication is performed using Cu-Cu thermo-compression bonding to bond the GaAs/AlGaAs epitaxial layer to a GaAs receptor wafer.

  7. Widely tunable quantum cascade laser-based terahertz source.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danylov, Andriy A; Light, Alexander R; Waldman, Jerry; Erickson, Neal; Qian, Xifeng

    2014-07-10

    A compact, tunable, ultranarrowband terahertz source, Δν∼1  MHz, is demonstrated by upconversion of a 2.324 THz, free-running quantum cascade laser with a THz Schottky-diode-balanced mixer using a swept, synthesized microwave source to drive the nonlinearity. Continuously tunable radiation of 1 μW power is demonstrated in two frequency regions: ν(Laser) ± 0 to 50 GHz and ν(Laser) ± 70 to 115 GHz. The sideband spectra were characterized with a Fourier-transform spectrometer, and the radiation was tuned through CO, HDO, and D2O rotational transitions.

  8. Mode-locked terahertz quantum cascade laser by direct phase synchronization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maussang, K.; Maysonnave, J.; Jukam, N.; Freeman, J. R.; Cavalié, P.; Dhillon, S. S.; Tignon, J.; Khanna, S. P.; Linfield, E. H.; Davies, A. G.; Beere, H. E.; Ritchie, D. A.

    2013-01-01

    Mode-locking of a terahertz quantum cascade laser is achieved using multimode injection seeding. Contrary to standard methods that rely on gain modulation, here a fixed phase relationship is directly imprinted to the laser modes. In this work, we demonstrate the generation of 9 ps phase mode-locked pulses around 2.75 THz. A direct measurement of the emitted field phase shows that it results from the phase of the initial injection

  9. Spectral behavior of a terahertz quantum-cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hensley, J M; Montoya, Juan; Allen, M G; Xu, J; Mahler, L; Tredicucci, A; Beere, H E; Ritchie, D A

    2009-10-26

    In this paper, the spectral behavior of two terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) operating both pulsed and cw is characterized using a heterodyne technique. Both lasers emitting around 2.5 THz are combined onto a whisker contact Schottky diode mixer mounted in a corner cube reflector. The resulting difference frequency beatnote is recorded in both the time and frequency domain. From the frequency domain data, we measure the effective laser linewidth and the tuning rates as a function of both temperature and injection current and show that the current tuning behavior cannot be explained by temperature tuning mechanisms alone. From the time domain data, we characterize the intrapulse frequency tuning behavior, which limits the effective linewidth to approximately 5 MHz.

  10. Lens Coupled Quantum Cascade Laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Qing (Inventor); Lee, Alan Wei Min (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    Terahertz quantum cascade (QC) devices are disclosed that can operate, e.g., in a range of about 1 THz to about 10 THz. In some embodiments, QC lasers are disclosed in which an optical element (e.g., a lens) is coupled to an output facet of the laser's active region to enhance coupling of the lasing radiation from the active region to an external environment. In other embodiments, terahertz amplifier and tunable terahertz QC lasers are disclosed.

  11. External amplitude and frequency modulation of a terahertz quantum cascade laser using metamaterial/graphene devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindness, S J; Jessop, D S; Wei, B; Wallis, R; Kamboj, V S; Xiao, L; Ren, Y; Braeuninger-Weimer, P; Aria, A I; Hofmann, S; Beere, H E; Ritchie, D A; Degl'Innocenti, R

    2017-08-09

    Active control of the amplitude and frequency of terahertz sources is an essential prerequisite for exploiting a myriad of terahertz applications in imaging, spectroscopy, and communications. Here we present a optoelectronic, external modulation technique applied to a terahertz quantum cascade laser which holds the promise of addressing a number of important challenges in this research area. A hybrid metamaterial/graphene device is implemented into an external cavity set-up allowing for optoelectronic tuning of feedback into a quantum cascade laser. We demonstrate powerful, all-electronic, control over the amplitude and frequency of the laser output. Full laser switching is performed by electrostatic gating of the metamaterial/graphene device, demonstrating a modulation depth of 100%. External control of the emission spectrum is also achieved, highlighting the flexibility of this feedback method. By taking advantage of the frequency dispersive reflectivity of the metamaterial array, different modes of the QCL output are selectively suppressed using lithographic tuning and single mode operation of the multi-mode laser is enforced. Side mode suppression is electrically modulated from ~6 dB to ~21 dB, demonstrating active, optoelectronic modulation of the laser frequency content between multi-mode and single mode operation.

  12. Real-time terahertz imaging through self-mixing in a quantum-cascade laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wienold, M., E-mail: martin.wienold@dlr.de; Rothbart, N.; Hübers, H.-W. [Institute of Optical Sensor Systems, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Hagelschuer, T. [Institute of Optical Sensor Systems, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Schrottke, L.; Biermann, K.; Grahn, H. T. [Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e. V., Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin (Germany)

    2016-07-04

    We report on a fast self-mixing approach for real-time, coherent terahertz imaging based on a quantum-cascade laser and a scanning mirror. Due to a fast deflection of the terahertz beam, images with frame rates up to several Hz are obtained, eventually limited by the mechanical inertia of the employed scanning mirror. A phase modulation technique allows for the separation of the amplitude and phase information without the necessity of parameter fitting routines. We further demonstrate the potential for transmission imaging.

  13. Fast continuous tuning of terahertz quantum-cascade lasers by rear-facet illumination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hempel, Martin, E-mail: hempel@pdi-berlin.de; Röben, Benjamin; Schrottke, Lutz; Grahn, Holger T. [Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e. V., Hausvogteiplatz 5–7, 10117 Berlin (Germany); Hübers, Heinz-Wilhelm [Institute of Optical Sensor Systems, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

    2016-05-09

    GaAs-based terahertz quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) are continuously tuned in their emission frequency by illuminating the rear facet with a near-infrared, high-power diode laser. For QCLs emitting around 3.1 THz, the maximum tuning range amounts to 2.8 GHz for continuous-wave operation at a heat sink temperature of 55 K, while in pulsed mode 9.1 and 8.0 GHz are achieved at 35 and 55 K, respectively.

  14. Widely tunable terahertz source based on intra-cavity frequency mixing in quantum cascade laser arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Aiting; Jung, Seungyong; Jiang, Yifan; Kim, Jae Hyun; Belkin, Mikhail A.; Vijayraghavan, Karun

    2015-01-01

    We demonstrate a compact monolithic terahertz source continuously tunable from 1.9 THz to 3.9 THz with the maximum peak power output of 106 μW at 3.46 THz at room temperature. The source consists of an array of 10 electrically tunable quantum cascade lasers with intra-cavity terahertz difference-frequency generation. To increase fabrication yield and achieve high THz peak power output in our devices, a dual-section current pumping scheme is implemented using two electrically isolated grating sections to independently control gain for the two mid-IR pumps

  15. Optical feedback effects on terahertz quantum cascade lasers: modelling and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakić, Aleksandar D.; Lim, Yah Leng; Taimre, Thomas; Agnew, Gary; Qi, Xiaoqiong; Bertling, Karl; Han, She; Wilson, Stephen J.; Kundu, Iman; Grier, Andrew; Ikonić, Zoran; Valavanis, Alexander; Demić, Aleksandar; Keeley, James; Li, Lianhe H.; Linfield, Edmund H.; Davies, A. Giles; Harrison, Paul; Ferguson, Blake; Walker, Graeme; Prow, Tarl; Indjin, Dragan; Soyer, H. Peter

    2016-11-01

    Terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are compact sources of radiation in the 1-5 THz range with significant potential for applications in sensing and imaging. Laser feedback interferometry (LFI) with THz QCLs is a technique utilizing the sensitivity of the QCL to the radiation reflected back into the laser cavity from an external target. We will discuss modelling techniques and explore the applications of LFI in biological tissue imaging and will show that the confocal nature of the QCL in LFI systems, with their innate capacity for depth sectioning, makes them suitable for skin diagnostics with the well-known advantages of more conventional confocal microscopes. A demonstration of discrimination of neoplasia from healthy tissue using a THz, LFI-based system in the context of melanoma is presented using a transgenic mouse model.

  16. Gas spectroscopy with integrated frequency monitoring through self-mixing in a terahertz quantum-cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhantyal-Pun, Rabi; Valavanis, Alexander; Keeley, James T; Rubino, Pierluigi; Kundu, Iman; Han, Yingjun; Dean, Paul; Li, Lianhe; Davies, A Giles; Linfield, Edmund H

    2018-05-15

    We demonstrate a gas spectroscopy technique, using self-mixing in a 3.4 terahertz quantum-cascade laser (QCL). All previous QCL spectroscopy techniques have required additional terahertz instrumentation (detectors, mixers, or spectrometers) for system pre-calibration or spectral analysis. By contrast, our system self-calibrates the laser frequency (i.e., with no external instrumentation) to a precision of 630 MHz (0.02%) by analyzing QCL voltage perturbations in response to optical feedback within a 0-800 mm round-trip delay line. We demonstrate methanol spectroscopy by introducing a gas cell into the feedback path and show that a limiting absorption coefficient of ∼1×10 -4   cm -1 is resolvable.

  17. Planar integrated metasurfaces for highly-collimated terahertz quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Guozhen; Dupont, Emmanuel; Fathololoumi, Saeed; Wasilewski, Zbigniew R.; Ban, Dayan; Liang, Hou Kun; Zhang, Ying; Yu, Siu Fung; Li, Lianhe H.; Davies, Alexander Giles; Linfield, Edmund H.; Liu, Hui Chun; Wang, Qi Jie

    2014-01-01

    We report planar integration of tapered terahertz (THz) frequency quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) with metasurface waveguides that are designed to be spoof surface plasmon (SSP) out-couplers by introducing periodically arranged SSP scatterers. The resulting surface-emitting THz beam profile is highly collimated with a divergence as narrow as ~4° × 10°, which indicates a good waveguiding property of the metasurface waveguide. In addition, the low background THz power implies a high coupling efficiency for the THz radiation from the laser cavity to the metasurface structure. Furthermore, since all the structures are in-plane, this scheme provides a promising platform where well-established surface plasmon/metasurface techniques can be employed to engineer the emitted beam of THz QCLs controllably and flexibly. More importantly, an integrated active THz photonic circuit for sensing and communication applications could be constructed by incorporating other optoelectronic devices such as Schottky diode THz mixers, and graphene modulators and photodetectors. PMID:25403796

  18. Modeling techniques for quantum cascade lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jirauschek, Christian [Institute for Nanoelectronics, Technische Universität München, D-80333 Munich (Germany); Kubis, Tillmann [Network for Computational Nanotechnology, Purdue University, 207 S Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States)

    2014-03-15

    Quantum cascade lasers are unipolar semiconductor lasers covering a wide range of the infrared and terahertz spectrum. Lasing action is achieved by using optical intersubband transitions between quantized states in specifically designed multiple-quantum-well heterostructures. A systematic improvement of quantum cascade lasers with respect to operating temperature, efficiency, and spectral range requires detailed modeling of the underlying physical processes in these structures. Moreover, the quantum cascade laser constitutes a versatile model device for the development and improvement of simulation techniques in nano- and optoelectronics. This review provides a comprehensive survey and discussion of the modeling techniques used for the simulation of quantum cascade lasers. The main focus is on the modeling of carrier transport in the nanostructured gain medium, while the simulation of the optical cavity is covered at a more basic level. Specifically, the transfer matrix and finite difference methods for solving the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation and Schrödinger-Poisson system are discussed, providing the quantized states in the multiple-quantum-well active region. The modeling of the optical cavity is covered with a focus on basic waveguide resonator structures. Furthermore, various carrier transport simulation methods are discussed, ranging from basic empirical approaches to advanced self-consistent techniques. The methods include empirical rate equation and related Maxwell-Bloch equation approaches, self-consistent rate equation and ensemble Monte Carlo methods, as well as quantum transport approaches, in particular the density matrix and non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The derived scattering rates and self-energies are generally valid for n-type devices based on one-dimensional quantum confinement, such as quantum well structures.

  19. Modeling techniques for quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jirauschek, Christian; Kubis, Tillmann

    2014-03-01

    Quantum cascade lasers are unipolar semiconductor lasers covering a wide range of the infrared and terahertz spectrum. Lasing action is achieved by using optical intersubband transitions between quantized states in specifically designed multiple-quantum-well heterostructures. A systematic improvement of quantum cascade lasers with respect to operating temperature, efficiency, and spectral range requires detailed modeling of the underlying physical processes in these structures. Moreover, the quantum cascade laser constitutes a versatile model device for the development and improvement of simulation techniques in nano- and optoelectronics. This review provides a comprehensive survey and discussion of the modeling techniques used for the simulation of quantum cascade lasers. The main focus is on the modeling of carrier transport in the nanostructured gain medium, while the simulation of the optical cavity is covered at a more basic level. Specifically, the transfer matrix and finite difference methods for solving the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation and Schrödinger-Poisson system are discussed, providing the quantized states in the multiple-quantum-well active region. The modeling of the optical cavity is covered with a focus on basic waveguide resonator structures. Furthermore, various carrier transport simulation methods are discussed, ranging from basic empirical approaches to advanced self-consistent techniques. The methods include empirical rate equation and related Maxwell-Bloch equation approaches, self-consistent rate equation and ensemble Monte Carlo methods, as well as quantum transport approaches, in particular the density matrix and non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The derived scattering rates and self-energies are generally valid for n-type devices based on one-dimensional quantum confinement, such as quantum well structures.

  20. Homogeneous spectral broadening of pulsed terahertz quantum cascade lasers by radio frequency modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, W J; Li, H; Cao, J C

    2018-01-22

    The authors present an experimental investigation of radio frequency modulation on pulsed terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting around 4.3 THz. The QCL chip used in this work is based on a resonant phonon design which is able to generate a 1.2 W peak power at 10 K from a 400-µm-wide and 4-mm-long laser with a single plasmon waveguide. To enhance the radio frequency modulation efficiency and significantly broaden the terahertz spectra, the QCLs are also processed into a double-metal waveguide geometry with a Silicon lens out-coupler to improve the far-field beam quality. The measured beam patterns of the double-metal QCL show a record low divergence of 2.6° in vertical direction and 2.4° in horizontal direction. Finally we perform the inter-mode beat note and terahertz spectra measurements for both single plasmon and double-metal QCLs working in pulsed mode. Since the double-metal waveguide is more suitable for microwave signal transmission, the radio frequency modulation shows stronger effects on the spectral broadening for the double-metal QCL. Although we are not able to achieve comb operation in this work for the pulsed lasers due to the large phase noise, the homogeneous spectral broadening resulted from the radio frequency modulation can be potentially used for spectroscopic applications.

  1. Non-equilibrium Green's function calculation for GaN-based terahertz-quantum cascade laser structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasuda, H.; Kubis, T.; Hosako, I.; Hirakawa, K.

    2012-04-01

    We theoretically investigated GaN-based resonant phonon terahertz-quantum cascade laser (QCL) structures for possible high-temperature operation by using the non-equilibrium Green's function method. It was found that the GaN-based THz-QCL structures do not necessarily have a gain sufficient for lasing, even though the thermal backfilling and the thermally activated phonon scattering are effectively suppressed. The main reason for this is the broadening of the subband levels caused by a very strong interaction between electrons and longitudinal optical (LO) phonons in GaN.

  2. Terahertz Heterodyne Receiver with an Electron-Heating Mixer and a Heterodyne Based on the Quantum-Cascade Laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seliverstov, S. V.; Anfertyev, V. A.; Tretyakov, I. V.; Ozheredov, I. A.; Solyankin, P. M.; Revin, L. S.; Vaks, V. L.; Rusova, A. A.; Goltsman, G. N.; Shkurinov, A. P.

    2017-12-01

    We study characteristics of the laboratory prototype of a terahertz heterodyne receiver with an electron-heating mixer and a heterodyne based on the quantum-cascade laser. The results obtained demonstrate the possibility to use this receiver as a basis for creation of a high-sensitivity terahertz spectrometer, which can be used in many basic and practical applications. A significant advantage of this receiver will be the possibility of placing the mixer and heterodyne in the same cryostat, which will reduce the device dimensions considerably. The obtained experimental results are analyzed, and methods of optimizing the parameters of the receiver are proposed.

  3. How periodic are terahertz quantum cascade lasers?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubis, T; Vogl, P

    2009-01-01

    We apply a novel non-equilibrium Green's function method for open quantum devices to analyze quantum cascade lasers. We find the carrier distribution in typical resonant phonon THz-QCLs to develop a periodicity that differs from the geometric periodicity of the QCL. We propose a design improvement that thermalizes electrons at threshold bias and thereby pins the electron density to the QCL periodicity.

  4. How periodic are terahertz quantum cascade lasers?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubis, T; Vogl, P, E-mail: tillmann.kubis@wsi.tum.d [Walter Schottky Institute, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Am Coulombwall 3, 85748 Garching (Germany)

    2009-11-15

    We apply a novel non-equilibrium Green's function method for open quantum devices to analyze quantum cascade lasers. We find the carrier distribution in typical resonant phonon THz-QCLs to develop a periodicity that differs from the geometric periodicity of the QCL. We propose a design improvement that thermalizes electrons at threshold bias and thereby pins the electron density to the QCL periodicity.

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khabibullin, R. A., E-mail: khabibullin@isvch.ru; Shchavruk, N. V.; Klochkov, A. N.; Glinskiy, I. A.; Zenchenko, N. V.; Ponomarev, D. S.; Maltsev, P. P. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultrahigh Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Zaycev, A. A. [National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET) (Russian Federation); Zubov, F. I.; Zhukov, A. E.; Cirlin, G. E.; Alferov, Zh. I. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg Academic University—Nanotechnology Research and Education Center (Russian Federation)

    2017-04-15

    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{sup +}-GaAs conductive substrate based on Au–Au are selected to produce a mechanically stronger contact with a higher thermal conductivity.

  6. Injection-locking of terahertz quantum cascade lasers up to 35GHz using RF amplitude modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gellie, Pierre; Barbieri, Stefano; Lampin, Jean-François; Filloux, Pascal; Manquest, Christophe; Sirtori, Carlo; Sagnes, Isabelle; Khanna, Suraj P; Linfield, Edmund H; Davies, A Giles; Beere, Harvey; Ritchie, David

    2010-09-27

    We demonstrate that the cavity resonance frequency - the round-trip frequency - of Terahertz quantum cascade lasers can be injection-locked by direct modulation of the bias current using an RF source. Metal-metal and single-plasmon waveguide devices with roundtrip frequencies up to 35GHz have been studied, and show locking ranges above 200MHz. Inside this locking range the laser round-trip frequency is phase-locked, with a phase noise determined by the RF-synthesizer. We find a square-root dependence of the locking range with RF-power in agreement with classical injection-locking theory. These results are discussed in the context of mode-locking operation.

  7. Terahertz near-field imaging using subwavelength plasmonic apertures and a quantum cascade laser source.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baragwanath, Adam J; Freeman, Joshua R; Gallant, Andrew J; Zeitler, J Axel; Beere, Harvey E; Ritchie, David A; Chamberlain, J Martyn

    2011-07-01

    The first demonstration, to our knowledge, of near-field imaging using subwavelength plasmonic apertures with a terahertz quantum cascade laser source is presented. "Bull's-eye" apertures, featuring subwavelength circular apertures flanked by periodic annular corrugations were created using a novel fabrication method. A fivefold increase in intensity was observed for plasmonic apertures over plain apertures of the same diameter. Detailed studies of the transmitted beam profiles were undertaken for apertures with both planarized and corrugated exit facets, with the former producing spatially uniform intensity profiles and subwavelength spatial resolution. Finally, a proof-of-concept imaging experiment is presented, where an inhomogeneous pharmaceutical drug coating is investigated.

  8. Efficient method for transport simulations in quantum cascade lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maczka Mariusz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available An efficient method for simulating quantum transport in quantum cascade lasers is presented. The calculations are performed within a simple approximation inspired by Büttiker probes and based on a finite model for semiconductor superlattices. The formalism of non-equilibrium Green’s functions is applied to determine the selected transport parameters in a typical structure of a terahertz laser. Results were compared with those obtained for a infinite model as well as other methods described in literature.

  9. Room temperature negative differential resistance in terahertz quantum cascade laser structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albo, Asaf, E-mail: asafalbo@gmail.com; Hu, Qing [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Reno, John L. [Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, MS 1303, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1303 (United States)

    2016-08-22

    The mechanisms that limit the temperature performance of GaAs/Al{sub 0.15}GaAs-based terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz-QCLs) have been identified as thermally activated LO-phonon scattering and leakage of charge carriers into the continuum. Consequently, the combination of highly diagonal optical transition and higher barriers should significantly reduce the adverse effects of both mechanisms and lead to improved temperature performance. Here, we study the temperature performance of highly diagonal THz-QCLs with high barriers. Our analysis uncovers an additional leakage channel which is the thermal excitation of carriers into bounded higher energy levels, rather than the escape into the continuum. Based on this understanding, we have designed a structure with an increased intersubband spacing between the upper lasing level and excited states in a highly diagonal THz-QCL, which exhibits negative differential resistance even at room temperature. This result is a strong evidence for the effective suppression of the aforementioned leakage channel.

  10. Apertureless near-field terahertz imaging using the self-mixing effect in a quantum cascade laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dean, Paul, E-mail: p.dean@leeds.ac.uk; Keeley, James; Kundu, Iman; Li, Lianhe; Linfield, Edmund H.; Giles Davies, A. [School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom); Mitrofanov, Oleg [Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE (United Kingdom)

    2016-02-29

    We report two-dimensional apertureless near-field terahertz (THz) imaging using a quantum cascade laser (QCL) source and a scattering probe. A near-field enhancement of the scattered field amplitude is observed for small tip-sample separations, allowing image resolutions of ∼1 μm (∼λ/100) and ∼7 μm to be achieved along orthogonal directions on the sample surface. This represents the highest resolution demonstrated to date with a THz QCL. By employing a detection scheme based on self-mixing interferometry, our approach offers experimental simplicity by removing the need for an external detector and also provides sensitivity to the phase of the reinjected field.

  11. Phase-locking to a free-space terahertz comb for metrological-grade terahertz lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consolino, L; Taschin, A; Bartolini, P; Bartalini, S; Cancio, P; Tredicucci, A; Beere, H E; Ritchie, D A; Torre, R; Vitiello, M S; De Natale, P

    2012-01-01

    Optical frequency comb synthesizers have represented a revolutionary approach to frequency metrology, providing a grid of frequency references for any laser emitting within their spectral coverage. Extending the metrological features of optical frequency comb synthesizers to the terahertz domain would be a major breakthrough, due to the widespread range of accessible strategic applications and the availability of stable, high-power and widely tunable sources such as quantum cascade lasers. Here we demonstrate phase-locking of a 2.5 THz quantum cascade laser to a free-space comb, generated in a LiNbO(3) waveguide and covering the 0.1-6 THz frequency range. We show that even a small fraction (quantum cascade laser is sufficient to generate a beat note suitable for phase-locking to the comb, paving the way to novel metrological-grade terahertz applications, including high-resolution spectroscopy, manipulation of cold molecules, astronomy and telecommunications.

  12. Integrated Broadband Quantum Cascade Laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansour, Kamjou (Inventor); Soibel, Alexander (Inventor)

    2016-01-01

    A broadband, integrated quantum cascade laser is disclosed, comprising ridge waveguide quantum cascade lasers formed by applying standard semiconductor process techniques to a monolithic structure of alternating layers of claddings and active region layers. The resulting ridge waveguide quantum cascade lasers may be individually controlled by independent voltage potentials, resulting in control of the overall spectrum of the integrated quantum cascade laser source. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

  13. A two-level model of rise time in quantum cascade laser materials applied to 5 micron, 9 micron and terahertz-range wavelengths

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webb, J F; Yong, K S C; Haldar, M K

    2014-01-01

    An equivalent circuit simulation of a two-level rate equation model for quantum cascade laser (QCL) materials is used to study the turn on delay and rise time for three QCLs with 5 micron, 9 micron and terahertz-range wavelengths. In order to do this it is necessary that the model can deal with large signal responses and not be restricted to small signal responses; the model used here is capable of this. The effect of varying some of the characteristic times in the model is also investigated. The comparison of the terahertz wave QCL with the others is particularly important given the increased interest in terahertz sources which have a large range of important applications, such as in medical imaging

  14. Surface plasmon quantum cascade lasers as terahertz local oscillators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hajenius, M.; Khosropanah, P.; Hovenier, J. N.; Gao, J. R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Barbieri, S.; Dhillon, S.; Filloux, P.; Sirtori, C.; Ritchie, D. A.; Beere, H. E.

    2008-01-01

    We characterize a heterodyne receiver based on a surface-plasmon waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) emitting at 2.84 THz as a local oscillator, and an NbN hot electron bolometer as a mixer. We find that the envelope of the far-field pattern of the QCL is diffraction-limited and superimposed onto

  15. Influence of interface roughness in quantum cascade lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krivas, K. A.; Winge, D. O.; Franckié, M.; Wacker, A.

    2015-01-01

    We use a numerical model based on non-equilibrium Green's functions to investigate the influence of interface roughness (IFR) scattering in terahertz quantum cascade lasers. We confirm that IFR is an important phenomenon that affects both current and gain. The simulations indicate that IFR causes a leakage current that transfers electrons from the upper to the lower laser state. In certain cases, this current can greatly reduce gain. In addition, individual interfaces and their impact on the renormalized single particle energies are studied and shown to give both blue- and red-shifts of the gain spectrum

  16. Homogeneous spectral spanning of terahertz semiconductor lasers with radio frequency modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, W J; Li, H; Zhou, T; Cao, J C

    2017-03-08

    Homogeneous broadband and electrically pumped semiconductor radiation sources emitting in the terahertz regime are highly desirable for various applications, including spectroscopy, chemical sensing, and gas identification. In the frequency range between 1 and 5 THz, unipolar quantum cascade lasers employing electron inter-subband transitions in multiple-quantum-well structures are the most powerful semiconductor light sources. However, these devices are normally characterized by either a narrow emission spectrum due to the narrow gain bandwidth of the inter-subband optical transitions or an inhomogeneous broad terahertz spectrum from lasers with heterogeneous stacks of active regions. Here, we report the demonstration of homogeneous spectral spanning of long-cavity terahertz semiconductor quantum cascade lasers based on a bound-to-continuum and resonant phonon design under radio frequency modulation. At a single drive current, the terahertz spectrum under radio frequency modulation continuously spans 330 GHz (~8% of the central frequency), which is the record for single plasmon waveguide terahertz lasers with a bound-to-continuum design. The homogeneous broadband terahertz sources can be used for spectroscopic applications, i.e., GaAs etalon transmission measurement and ammonia gas identification.

  17. Spectral purity and tunability of terahertz quantum cascade laser sources based on intracavity difference-frequency generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consolino, Luigi; Jung, Seungyong; Campa, Annamaria; De Regis, Michele; Pal, Shovon; Kim, Jae Hyun; Fujita, Kazuue; Ito, Akio; Hitaka, Masahiro; Bartalini, Saverio; De Natale, Paolo; Belkin, Mikhail A; Vitiello, Miriam Serena

    2017-09-01

    Terahertz sources based on intracavity difference-frequency generation in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (THz DFG-QCLs) have recently emerged as the first monolithic electrically pumped semiconductor sources capable of operating at room temperature across the 1- to 6-THz range. Despite tremendous progress in power output, which now exceeds 1 mW in pulsed and 10 μW in continuous-wave regimes at room temperature, knowledge of the major figure of merits of these devices for high-precision spectroscopy, such as spectral purity and absolute frequency tunability, is still lacking. By exploiting a metrological grade system comprising a terahertz frequency comb synthesizer, we measure, for the first time, the free-running emission linewidth (LW), the tuning characteristics, and the absolute center frequency of individual emission lines of these sources with an uncertainty of 4 × 10 -10 . The unveiled emission LW (400 kHz at 1-ms integration time) indicates that DFG-QCLs are well suited to operate as local oscillators and to be used for a variety of metrological, spectroscopic, communication, and imaging applications that require narrow-LW THz sources.

  18. Terahertz GaAs/AlAs quantum-cascade lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schrottke, L., E-mail: lutz@pdi-berlin.de; Lü, X.; Rozas, G.; Biermann, K.; Grahn, H. T. [Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5–7, 10117 Berlin (Germany)

    2016-03-07

    We have realized GaAs/AlAs quantum-cascade lasers operating at 4.75 THz exhibiting more than three times higher wall plug efficiencies than GaAs/Al{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}As lasers with an almost identical design. At the same time, the threshold current density at 10 K is reduced from about 350 A/cm{sup 2} for the GaAs/Al{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}As laser to about 120 A/cm{sup 2} for the GaAs/AlAs laser. Substituting AlAs for Al{sub 0.25}Ga{sub 0.75}As barriers leads to a larger energy separation between the subbands reducing the probability for leakage currents through parasitic states and for reabsorption of the laser light. The higher barriers allow for a shift of the quasi-continuum of states to much higher energies. The use of a binary barrier material may also reduce detrimental effects due to the expected composition fluctuations in ternary alloys.

  19. Frequency modulation spectroscopy with a THz quantum-cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichholz, R; Richter, H; Wienold, M; Schrottke, L; Hey, R; Grahn, H T; Hübers, H-W

    2013-12-30

    We report on a terahertz spectrometer for high-resolution molecular spectroscopy based on a quantum-cascade laser. High-frequency modulation (up to 50 MHz) of the laser driving current produces a simultaneous modulation of the frequency and amplitude of the laser output. The modulation generates sidebands, which are symmetrically positioned with respect to the laser carrier frequency. The molecular transition is probed by scanning the sidebands across it. In this way, the absorption and the dispersion caused by the molecular transition are measured. The signals are modeled by taking into account the simultaneous modulation of the frequency and amplitude of the laser emission. This allows for the determination of the strength of the frequency as well as amplitude modulation of the laser and of molecular parameters such as pressure broadening.

  20. Mode-locking of a terahertz laser by direct phase synchronization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maysonnave, J; Maussang, K; Freeman, J R; Jukam, N; Madéo, J; Cavalié, P; Rungsawang, R; Khanna, S P; Linfield, E H; Davies, A G; Beere, H E; Ritchie, D A; Dhillon, S S; Tignon, J

    2012-09-10

    A novel scheme to achieve mode-locking of a multimode laser is demonstrated. Traditional methods to produce ultrashort laser pulses are based on modulating the cavity gain or losses at the cavity roundtrip frequency, favoring the pulsed emission. Here, we rather directly act on the phases of the modes, resulting in constructive interference for the appropriated phase relationship. This was performed on a terahertz quantum cascade laser by multimode injection seeding with an external terahertz pulse, resulting in phase mode-locked terahertz laser pulses of 9 ps duration, characterized unambiguously in the time domain.

  1. Terahertz lasers and amplifiers based on resonant optical phonon scattering to achieve population inversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Benjamin S. (Inventor); Hu, Qing (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    The present invention provides quantum cascade lasers and amplifier that operate in a frequency range of about 1 Terahertz to about 10 Terahertz. In one aspect, a quantum cascade laser of the invention includes a semiconductor heterostructure that provides a plurality of lasing modules connected in series. Each lasing module includes a plurality of quantum well structure that collectively generate at least an upper lasing state, a lower lasing state, and a relaxation state such that the upper and the lower lasing states are separated by an energy corresponding to an optical frequency in a range of about 1 to about 10 Terahertz. The lower lasing state is selectively depopulated via resonant LO-phonon scattering of electrons into the relaxation state.

  2. Integrated heterodyne terahertz transceiver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Mark [Albuquerque, NM; Wanke, Michael C [Albuquerque, NM

    2009-06-23

    A heterodyne terahertz transceiver comprises a quantum cascade laser that is integrated on-chip with a Schottky diode mixer. An antenna connected to the Schottky diode receives a terahertz signal. The quantum cascade laser couples terahertz local oscillator power to the Schottky diode to mix with the received terahertz signal to provide an intermediate frequency output signal. The fully integrated transceiver optimizes power efficiency, sensitivity, compactness, and reliability. The transceiver can be used in compact, fieldable systems covering a wide variety of deployable applications not possible with existing technology.

  3. Integrated heterodyne terahertz transceiver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanke, Michael C [Albuquerque, NM; Lee, Mark [Albuquerque, NM; Nordquist, Christopher D [Albuquerque, NM; Cich, Michael J [Albuquerque, NM

    2012-09-25

    A heterodyne terahertz transceiver comprises a quantum cascade laser that is integrated on-chip with a Schottky diode mixer. A terahertz signal can be received by an antenna connected to the mixer, an end facet or sidewall of the laser, or through a separate active section that can amplify the incident signal. The quantum cascade laser couples terahertz local oscillator power to the Schottky diode to mix with the received terahertz signal to provide an intermediate frequency output signal. The fully integrated transceiver optimizes power efficiency, sensitivity, compactness, and reliability. The transceiver can be used in compact, fieldable systems covering a wide variety of deployable applications not possible with existing technology.

  4. Phase locking and spectral linewidth of a two-mode terahertz quantum cascade laser

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baryshev, A.; Hovenier, J.N.; Adam, A.J.L.; Kašalynas, I.; Gao, J.R.; Klaassen, T.O.; Williams, B.S.; Kumar, S.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J.L.

    2006-01-01

    We have studied the phase locking and spectral linewidth of an ? 2.7?THz quantum cascade laser by mixing its two lateral lasing modes. The beat signal at about 8?GHz is compared with a microwave reference by applying conventional phase lock loop circuitry with feedback to the laser bias current.

  5. Phase locking and spectral linewidth of a two-mode terahertz quantum cascade laser

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baryshev, A.; Hovenier, J. N.; Adam, A. J. L.; Kašalynas, I.; Gao, J. R.; Klaassen, T. O.; Williams, B. S.; Kumar, S.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J. L.

    2006-01-01

    We have studied the phase locking and spectral linewidth of an ˜2.7THz quantum cascade laser by mixing its two lateral lasing modes. The beat signal at about 8GHz is compared with a microwave reference by applying conventional phase lock loop circuitry with feedback to the laser bias current. Phase

  6. Frequency and amplitude modulation of ultra-compact terahertz quantum cascade lasers using an integrated avalanche diode oscillator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castellano, Fabrizio; Li, Lianhe; Linfield, Edmund H; Davies, A Giles; Vitiello, Miriam S

    2016-03-15

    Mode-locked comb sources operating at optical frequencies underpin applications ranging from spectroscopy and ultrafast physics, through to absolute frequency measurements and atomic clocks. Extending their operation into the terahertz frequency range would greatly benefit from the availability of compact semiconductor-based sources. However, the development of any compact mode-locked THz laser, which itself is inherently a frequency comb, has yet to be achieved without the use of an external stimulus. High-power, electrically pumped quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have recently emerged as a promising solution, owing to their octave spanning bandwidths, the ability to achieve group-velocity dispersion compensation and the possibility of obtaining active mode-locking. Here, we propose an unprecedented compact architecture to induce both frequency and amplitude self-modulation in a THz QCL. By engineering a microwave avalanche oscillator into the laser cavity, which provides a 10 GHz self-modulation of the bias current and output power, we demonstrate multimode laser emission centered around 3 THz, with distinct multiple sidebands. The resulting microwave amplitude and frequency self-modulation of THz QCLs opens up intriguing perspectives, for engineering integrated self-mode-locked THz lasers, with impact in fields such as nano- and ultrafast photonics and optical metrology.

  7. Defence and security applications of quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grasso, Robert J.

    2016-09-01

    Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) have seen tremendous recent application in the realm of Defence and Security. And, in many instances replacing traditional solid state lasers as the source of choice for Countermeasures, Remote Sensing, In-situ Sensing, Through-Barrier Sensing, and many others. Following their development and demonstration in the early 1990's, QCL's reached some maturity and specific defence and security application prior to 2005; with much initial development fostered by DARPA initiatives in the US, dstl, MoD, and EOARD funding initiatives in the UK, and University level R&D such as those by Prof Manijeh Razeghi at Northwestern University [1], and Prof Ted Masselink at Humboldt University [2]. As QCL's provide direct mid-IR laser output for electrical input, they demonstrate high quantum efficiency compared with diode pumped solid state lasers with optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) to generate mid-Infrared output. One particular advantage of QCL's is their very broad operational bandwidth, extending from the terahertz to the near-infrared spectral regions. Defence and Security areas benefiting from QCL's include: Countermeasures, Remote Sensing, Through-the-Wall Sensing, and Explosive Detection. All information used to construct this paper obtained from open sources.

  8. Surface plasmon quantum cascade lasers as terahertz local oscillators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajenius, M; Khosropanah, P; Hovenier, J N; Gao, J R; Klapwijk, T M; Barbieri, S; Dhillon, S; Filloux, P; Sirtori, C; Ritchie, D A; Beere, H E

    2008-02-15

    We characterize a heterodyne receiver based on a surface-plasmon waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) emitting at 2.84 THz as a local oscillator, and an NbN hot electron bolometer as a mixer. We find that the envelope of the far-field pattern of the QCL is diffraction-limited and superimposed onto interference fringes, which are similar to those found in narrow double-metal waveguide QCLs. Compared to the latter, a more directional beam allows for better coupling of the radiation power to the mixer. We obtain a receiver noise temperature of 1050 K when the mixer is at 2 K, which, to our knowledge, is the highest sensitivity reported at frequencies beyond 2.5 THz.

  9. Design of three-well indirect pumping terahertz quantum cascade lasers for high optical gain based on nonequilibrium Green's function analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Tao; Kubis, Tillmann; Jie Wang, Qi; Klimeck, Gerhard

    2012-03-01

    The nonequilibrium Green's function approach is applied to the design of three-well indirect pumping terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) based on a resonant phonon depopulation scheme. The effects of the anticrossing of the injector states and the dipole matrix element of the laser levels on the optical gain of THz QCLs are studied. The results show that a design that results in a more pronounced anticrossing of the injector states will achieve a higher optical gain in the indirect pumping scheme compared to the traditional resonant-tunneling injection scheme. This offers in general a more efficient coherent resonant-tunneling transport of electrons in the indirect pumping scheme. It is also shown that, for operating temperatures below 200 K and low lasing frequencies, larger dipole matrix elements, i.e., vertical optical transitions, offer a higher optical gain. In contrast, in the case of high lasing frequencies, smaller dipole matrix elements, i.e., diagonal optical transitions are better for achieving a higher optical gain.

  10. Terahertz imaging using quantum cascade lasers—a review of systems and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dean, P; Valavanis, A; Keeley, J; Alhathlool, R; Burnett, A D; Li, L H; Khanna, S P; Indjin, D; Linfield, E H; Davies, A G; Bertling, K; Lim, Y L; Rakić, A D; Taimre, T

    2014-01-01

    The terahertz (THz) frequency quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a compact source of THz radiation offering high power, high spectral purity and moderate tunability. As such, these sources are particularly suited to the application of THz frequency imaging across a range of disciplines, and have motivated significant research interest in this area over the past decade. In this paper we review the technological approaches to THz QCL-based imaging and the key advancements within this field. We discuss in detail a number of imaging approaches targeted to application areas including multiple-frequency transmission and diffuse reflection imaging for the spectral mapping of targets; as well as coherent approaches based on the self-mixing phenomenon in THz QCLs for long-range imaging, three-dimensional imaging, materials analysis, and high-resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging. (paper)

  11. Influence of screening on longitudinal-optical phonon scattering in quantum cascade lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ezhov, Ivan; Jirauschek, Christian

    2016-01-01

    We theoretically investigate the influence of screening on electron-longitudinal optical phonon scattering in quantum cascade lasers. By employing ensemble Monte Carlo simulations, an advanced screening model based on the random-phase approximation is compared to the more elementary Thomas-Fermi and Debye models. For mid-infrared structures, and to a lesser extent also for terahertz designs, the inclusion of screening is shown to affect the simulated current and optical output power. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that by using the electron temperature rather than the lattice temperature, the Debye model can be significantly improved

  12. Mode structure of a quantum cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogdanov, A. A.; Suris, R. A.

    2011-03-01

    We analyze the mode structure of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) cavity considering the surface plasmon-polariton modes and familiar modes of hollow resonator jointly, within a single model. We present a comprehensive mode structure analysis of the laser cavity, varying its geometric parameters and free electron concentration inside cavity layers within a wide range. Our analysis covers, in particular, the cases of metal-insulator-metal and insulator-metal-insulator waveguides. We discuss the phenomenon of negative dispersion for eigenmodes in detail and explain the nature of this phenomenon. We specify a waveguide parameters domain in which negative dispersion exists. The mode structure of QCL cavity is considered in the case of the anisotropic electrical properties of the waveguide materials. We show that anisotropy of the waveguide core results in propagation of Langmuir modes that are degenerated in the case of the isotropic core. Comparative analysis of optical losses due to free carrier absorption is presented for different modes within the frequency range from terahertz to ultraviolet frequencies.

  13. Phase-locking of a 2.5 THz quantum cascade laser to a frequency comb using a GaAs photomixer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravaro, M; Manquest, C; Sirtori, C; Barbieri, S; Santarelli, G; Blary, K; Lampin, J-F; Khanna, S P; Linfield, E H

    2011-10-15

    We report the heterodyne detection and phase locking of a 2.5 THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) using a terahertz frequency comb generated in a GaAs photomixer using a femtosecond fiber laser. With 10 mW emitted by the QCL, the phase-locked signal at the intermediate frequency yields 80 dB of signal-to-noise ratio in a bandwidth of 1 Hz.

  14. Common mode frequency instability in internally phase-locked terahertz quantum cascade lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanke, M C; Grine, A D; Fuller, C T; Nordquist, C D; Cich, M J; Reno, J L; Lee, Mark

    2011-11-21

    Feedback from a diode mixer integrated into a 2.8 THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) was used to phase lock the difference frequencies (DFs) among the Fabry-Perot (F-P) longitudinal modes of a QCL. Approximately 40% of the DF power was phase locked, consistent with feedback loop bandwidth of 10 kHz and phase noise bandwidth ~0.5 MHz. While the locked DF signal has ≤ 1 Hz linewidth and negligible drift over ~30 min, mixing measurements between two QCLs and between a QCL and molecular gas laser show that the common mode frequency stability is no better than a free-running QCL. © 2011 Optical Society of America

  15. Integration of a terahertz quantum cascade laser with a hollow waveguide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanke, Michael C [Albuquerque, NM; Nordquist, Christopher D [Albuquerque, NM

    2012-07-03

    The present invention is directed to the integration of a quantum cascade laser with a hollow waveguide on a chip to improve both the beam pattern and manufacturability. By coupling the QCL output into a single-mode rectangular waveguide the radiation mode structure can be known and the propagation, manipulation, and broadcast of the QCL radiation can then be entirely controlled by well-established rectangular waveguide techniques. By controlling the impedance of the interface, enhanced functions, such as creating amplifiers, efficient coupling to external cavities, and increasing power output from metal-metal THz QCLs, are also enabled.

  16. Modeling of anisotropic properties of double quantum rings by the terahertz laser field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baghramyan, Henrikh M; Barseghyan, Manuk G; Kirakosyan, Albert A; Ojeda, Judith H; Bragard, Jean; Laroze, David

    2018-04-18

    The rendering of different shapes of just a single sample of a concentric double quantum ring is demonstrated realizable with a terahertz laser field, that in turn, allows the manipulation of electronic and optical properties of a sample. It is shown that by changing the intensity or frequency of laser field, one can come to a new set of degenerated levels in double quantum rings and switch the charge distribution between the rings. In addition, depending on the direction of an additional static electric field, the linear and quadratic quantum confined Stark effects are observed. The absorption spectrum shifts and the additive absorption coefficient variations affected by laser and electric fields are discussed. Finally, anisotropic electronic and optical properties of isotropic concentric double quantum rings are modeled with the help of terahertz laser field.

  17. Frequency and Phase-lock Control of a 3 THz Quantum Cascade Laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betz, A. L.; Boreiko, R. T.; Williams, B. S.; Kumar, S.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J. L.

    2005-01-01

    We have locked the frequency of a 3 THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) to that of a far-infrared gas laser with a tunable microwave offset frequency. The locked QCL line shape is essentially Gaussian, with linewidths of 65 and 141 kHz at the -3 and -10 dB levels, respectively. The lock condition can be maintained indefinitely, without requiring temperature or bias current regulation of the QCL other than that provided by the lock error signal. The result demonstrates that a terahertz QCL can be frequency controlled with l-part-in-lO(exp 8) accuracy, which is a factor of 100 better than that needed for a local oscillator in a heterodyne receiver for atmospheric and astronomic spectroscopy.

  18. Quantum-mechanical designed terahertz laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benz, A.; Fasching, G.; Unterrainer, K.; Zobl, R.; Andrews, M.A.; Roch, T.; Schrenk, W.; Strasser, G.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: The terahertz-frequency region (1 THz=10 12 Hz) lies between RF-electronics and the photonics. Due to the large demand of coherent sources in this spectral range for applications liKEX medical imaging, chemical sensing and security applications large effort is put into the development of the THz-technology to close the THz-gap. The RF-electronics is able to generate frequencies up to around 0.1 THz, limited by the RC-time-constant of the system. The photonics on the other hand generates frequencies down to around 100 THz, defined by the bandgap of the used semiconducting material. Changing the wavelength requires the selection of a new material or of a new material composition. A new concept for coherent light sources is the quantum cascade laser (QCL), which was developed for the mid-infrared spectral region. The major advantage of the QCL-structure is the possibility to design the emission wavelength by band structure engineering. The wavelength is defined by the energy difference of quantized states in the conduction band. Here, we present a QCL working in the THz spectral region at 3 THz. The design is based on optical transitions between subbands of an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. The thickness of the GaAs and AlGaAs layers were calculated to obtain quantized transitions at the desired THz-frequency. The wavefunctions were optimized to achieve the largest possible matrix element. 271 cascades were grown by molecular beam epitaxy to increase the optical gain and to achieve a waveguide thickness comparable to the THz-wavelength. We report lasing from conventional ridge waveguide and microcavity devices. (author)

  19. Quantum Cascade Lasers Modulation and Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luzhansky, Edward

    The mid-wave IR (MWIR) spectral band, extending from 3 to 5 microns, is considered to be a low loss atmospheric window. There are several spectral sub-bands with relatively low atmospheric attenuation in this region making it popular for various commercial and military applications. Relatively low thermal and solar background emissions, effective penetration through the natural and anthropogenic obscurants and eye safety add to the long list of advantages of MWIR wavelengths. Quantum Cascade Lasers are compact semiconductor devices capable of operating in MWIR spectrum. They are based on inter-subband transitions in a multiple-quantum-well (QW) hetero-structure, designed by means of band-structure engineering. The inter-subband nature of the optical transition has several key advantages. First, the emission wavelength is primarily a function of the QW thickness. This characteristic allows choosing well-understood and reliable semiconductors for the generation of light in a wavelength range of interest. Second, a cascade process in which tens of photons are generated per injected electron. This cascading process is behind the intrinsic high-power capabilities of QCLs. This dissertation is focused on modulation properties of Quantum Cascade Lasers. Both amplitude and phase/frequency modulations were studied including modulation bandwidth, modulation efficiency and chirp linearity. Research was consisted of the two major parts. In the first part we describe the theory of frequency modulation (FM) response of Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Lasers (DFB QCL). It includes cascading effect on the QCL's maximum modulation frequency. The "gain levering" effect for the maximum FM response of the two section QCLs was studied as well. In the second part of research we concentrated on the Pulse Position Amplitude Modulation of a single section QCL. The low complexity, low size, weight and power Mid-Wavelength Infra-Red optical communications transceiver concept is

  20. High performance 5.6μm quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suttinger, M.; Go, R.; Figueiredo, P.; Todi, A.; Shu, Hong; Lyakh, A.

    2017-02-01

    5.6 μm quantum cascade lasers based on Al 0.78 In 0.22 As/In 0.69 Ga 0.31 As active region composition with measured pulsed room temperature wall plug efficiency of 28.3% are reported. Injection efficiency for the upper laser level of 75% was measured for the new design by testing devices with variable cavity length. Threshold current density of 1.7kA/cm2 and slope efficiency of 4.9W/A were measured for uncoated 3.15mm × 9μm lasers. Threshold current density and slope efficiency dependence on temperature in the range from 288K to 348K for the new structure can be described by characteristic temperatures T0 140K and T1 710K, respectively. Experimental data for inverse slope efficiency dependence on cavity length for 15-stage quantum cascade lasers with the same design are also presented. When combined with the 40-stage device data, the new data allowed for separate evaluation of the losses originating from the active region and from the cladding layers of the laser structure. Specifically, the active region losses for the studied design were found to be 0.77 cm-1, while cladding region losses - 0.33 cm-1. The data demonstrate that active region losses in mid wave infrared quantum cascade lasers largely define total waveguide losses and that their reduction should be one of the main priorities in the quantum cascade laser design.

  1. Optimizing optical nonlinearities in GaInAs/AlInAs quantum cascade lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gajić Aleksandra D.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Regardless of the huge advances made in the design and fabrication of mid-infrared and terahertz quantum cascade lasers, success in accessing the ~3-4 mm region of the electromagnetic spectrum has remained limited. This fact has brought about the need to exploit resonant intersubband transitions as powerful nonlinear oscillators, consequently enabling the occurrence of large nonlinear optical susceptibilities as a means of reaching desired wavelengths. In this work, we present a computational model developed for the optimization of second-order optical nonlinearities in In0.53Ga0.47As/Al0.48In0.52As quantum cascade laser structures based on the implementation of the Genetic algorithm. The carrier transport and the power output of the structure were calculated by self-consistent solutions to the system of rate equations for carriers and photons. Both stimulated and simultaneous double-photon absorption processes occurring between the second harmonic generation-relevant levels are incorporated into rate equations and the material-dependent effective mass and band non-parabolicity are taken into account, as well. The developed method is quite general and can be applied to any higher order effect which requires the inclusion of the photon density equation. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 45010

  2. Optimal control of quantum rings by terahertz laser pulses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Räsänen, E; Castro, A; Werschnik, J; Rubio, A; Gross, E K U

    2007-04-13

    Complete control of single-electron states in a two-dimensional semiconductor quantum-ring model is established, opening a path into coherent laser-driven single-gate qubits. The control scheme is developed in the framework of optimal-control theory for laser pulses of two-component polarization. In terms of pulse lengths and target-state occupations, the scheme is shown to be superior to conventional control methods that exploit Rabi oscillations generated by uniform circularly polarized pulses. Current-carrying states in a quantum ring can be used to manipulate a two-level subsystem at the ring center. Combining our results, we propose a realistic approach to construct a laser-driven single-gate qubit that has switching times in the terahertz regime.

  3. Novel High Power Type-I Quantum Well Cascade Diode Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-30

    Novel High Power Type-I Quantum Well Cascade Diode Lasers The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s...SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12. DISTRIBUTION AVAILIBILITY STATEMENT 6... High Power Type-I Quantum Well Cascade Diode Lasers Report Term: 0-Other Email: leon.shterengas@stonybrook.edu Distribution Statement: 1-Approved

  4. A terahertz heterodyne receiver based on a quantum cascade laser and a superconducting bolometer.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klaassen, T. O. (Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, Delft, The Netherlands); Hajenius, M. (Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, Delft, The Netherlands); Adam, A. J. L. (Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, Delft, The Netherlands); Klapwijk, T. M. (Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, Delft, The Netherlands); Baryshev, A. (SRON National Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan, Utrecht, The Netherlands); Kumar, Sushil (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA); Baselmans, J. J. A. (SRON National Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan, Utrecht, The Netherlands); Hu, Qing (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA); Yang, Z. Q. (SRON National Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan, Utrecht, The Netherlands); Hovenier, J. N. (Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, Delft, The Netherlands); Williams, Benjamin S. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA); Gao, J. R. (Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, Delft, The Netherlands); Reno, John Louis

    2005-03-01

    We report the first demonstration of an all solid-state heterodyne receiver that can be used for high-resolution spectroscopy above 2 THz suitable for space-based observatories. The receiver uses a NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer as mixer and a quantum cascade laser operating at 2.8 THz as local oscillator. We measure a double sideband receiver noise temperature of 1400 K at 2.8 THz and 4.2 K, and find that the free-running QCL has sufficient power stability for a practical receiver, demonstrating an unprecedented combination of sensitivity and stability.

  5. Estimating optical feedback from a chalcogenide fiber in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Jumpertz

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The amount of optical feedback originating from a chalcogenide fiber used to couple light from a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser is evaluated experimentally. Threshold reduction measurements on the fibered laser, combined with an analytical study of a rate equations model of the laser under optical feedback, allow estimating the feedback strength between 11% and 15% depending on the fiber cleavage quality. While this remains below the frontier of the chaotic regime, it is sufficient to deeply modify the optical spectrum of a quantum cascade laser. Hence for applications such as gas spectroscopy, where the shape of the optical spectrum is of prime importance, the use of mid-infrared optical isolators may be necessary for fibered quantum cascade lasers to be fully exploited.

  6. Study of optical confinement of quantum cascade lasers and applications to detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreau, Virginie

    2008-01-01

    Quantum cascade lasers have been invented in 1994 and they have already established themselves as the semiconductor laser source of choice in the mid- and far-infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. As most molecules of chemical interest exhibit roto-vibrational transitions in these spectral ranges, quantum cascade lasers are especially suited for applications such as spectroscopy, trace gas detection or medical imaging. One of the current leading research axis targets the device optimization and miniaturization, with possible applications in detection microsystems. This PhD thesis work focused on the study and optimization of the vertical optical confinement in quantum cascade lasers featuring optical waveguides without top cladding layers. These structures are interesting because they are compatible with two different guiding mechanisms at the same time, i.e. surface-plasmons and air confinement. The study of the characteristics of the optical mode and of the electrical current dispersion allowed us to conceive original structures which open new perspectives, for instance in the domain of analytic detection in a fluidic environment. Furthermore, we have shown that the observation by near field microscopy is a powerful tool to characterize and understand quantum cascade lasers. Finally, we have laid the foundations for the optimization of miniaturized arrays of single-mode lasers based on photonic crystal technology. (author) [fr

  7. Enhancement of optical Kerr effect in quantum-cascade lasers with multiple resonance levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Jing; Citrin, D S

    2008-08-18

    In this paper, we investigated the optical Kerr lensing effect in quantum-cascade lasers with multiple resonance levels. The Kerr refractive index n2 is obtained through the third-order susceptibility at the fundamental frequency chi(3)( omega; omega, omega,-omega). Resonant two-photon processes are found to have almost equal contributions to chi(3)( omega; omega, omega,-omega) as the single-photon processes, which result in the predicted enhancement of the positive nonlinear (Kerr) refractive index, and thus may enhance mode-locking of quantum-cascade lasers. Moreover, we also demonstrate an isospectral optimization strategy for further improving n2 through the band-structure design, in order to boost the multimode performance of quantum-cascade lasers. Simulation results show that the optimized stepwise multiple-quantum-well structure has n2 approximately 10-8 cm2/W, a twofold enhancement over the original flat quantum-well structure. This leads to a refractive-index change (delta)n of about 0.01, which is at the upper bound of those reported for typical Kerr medium. This stronger Kerr refractive index may be important for quantum-cascade lasers ultimately to demonstrate self-mode-locking.

  8. Phase locking of 2.324 and 2.959 terahertz quantum cascade lasers using a Schottky diode harmonic mixer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danylov, Andriy; Erickson, Neal; Light, Alexander; Waldman, Jerry

    2015-11-01

    The 23rd and 31st harmonics of a microwave signal generated in a novel THz balanced Schottky diode mixer were used as a frequency stable reference source to phase lock solid-nitrogen-cooled 2.324 and 2.959 THz quantum cascade lasers. Hertz-level frequency stability was achieved, which was maintained for several hours.

  9. Cascade Type-I Quantum Well GaSb-Based Diode Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leon Shterengas

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Cascade pumping of type-I quantum well gain sections was utilized to increase output power and efficiency of GaSb-based diode lasers operating in a spectral region from 1.9 to 3.3 μm. Carrier recycling between quantum well gain stages was realized using band-to-band tunneling in GaSb/AlSb/InAs heterostructure complemented with optimized electron and hole injector regions. Coated devices with an ~100-μm-wide aperture and a 3-mm-long cavity demonstrated continuous wave (CW output power of 1.96 W near 2 μm, 980 mW near 3 μm, 500 mW near 3.18 μm, and 360 mW near 3.25 μm at 17–20 °C—a nearly or more than twofold increase compared to previous state-of-the-art diode lasers. The utilization of the different quantum wells in the cascade laser heterostructure was demonstrated to yield wide gain lasers, as often desired for tunable laser spectroscopy. Double-step etching was utilized to minimize both the internal optical loss and the lateral current spreading penalties in narrow-ridge lasers. Narrow-ridge cascade diode lasers operate in a CW regime with ~100 mW of output power near and above 3 μm and above 150 mW near 2 μm.

  10. Mid-infrared quantum cascade laser spectroscopy probing of the ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Aparajeo Chattopadhyay

    2018-05-07

    May 7, 2018 ... cm3 molecule. −1 s. −1 ... Quantum cascade laser; time-resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy; transient absorption; peroxy radicals .... peak of the laser emission profile. .... cal with O2 is a termolecular reaction (Eq. 3) and the.

  11. Quantum cascade laser combs: effects of modulation and dispersion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villares, Gustavo; Faist, Jérôme

    2015-01-26

    Frequency comb formation in quantum cascade lasers is studied theoretically using a Maxwell-Bloch formalism based on a modal decomposition, where dispersion is considered. In the mid-infrared, comb formation persists in the presence of weak cavity dispersion (500 fs2 mm-1) but disappears when much larger values are used (30'000 fs2 mm-1). Active modulation at the round-trip frequency is found to induce mode-locking in THz devices, where the upper state lifetime is in the tens of picoseconds. Our results show that mode-locking based on four-wave mixing in broadband gain, low dispersion cavities is the most promising way of achieving broadband quantum cascade laser frequency combs.

  12. Pseudorandom dynamics of frequency combs in free-running quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Nathan; Burghoff, David; Yang, Yang; Hu, Qing; Khurgin, Jacob B.

    2018-01-01

    Recent research has shown that free-running quantum cascade lasers are capable of producing frequency combs in midinfrared and THz regions of the spectrum. Unlike familiar frequency combs originating from mode-locked lasers, these do not require any additional optical elements inside the cavity and have temporal characteristics that are dramatically different from the periodic pulse train of conventional combs. Frequency combs from quantum cascade lasers are characterized by the absence of sharp pulses and strong frequency modulation, periodic with the cavity round trip time but lacking any periodicity within that period. To explicate for this seemingly perplexing behavior, we develop a model of the gain medium using optical Bloch equations that account for hole burning in spectral, spatial, and temporal domains. With this model, we confirm that the most efficient mode of operation of a free-running quantum cascade laser is indeed a pseudorandom frequency-modulated field with nearly constant intensity. We show that the optimum modulation period is commensurate with the gain recovery time of the laser medium and the optimum modulation amplitude is comparable to the gain bandwidth, behavior that has been observed in the experiments.

  13. Quantum cascade lasers as metrological tools for space optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartalini, S.; Borri, S.; Galli, I.; Mazzotti, D.; Cancio Pastor, P.; Giusfredi, G.; De Natale, P.

    2017-11-01

    A distributed-feedback quantum-cascade laser working in the 4.3÷4.4 mm range has been frequency stabilized to the Lamb-dip center of a CO2 ro-vibrational transition by means of first-derivative locking to the saturated absorption signal, and its absolute frequency counted with a kHz-level precision and an overall uncertainty of 75 kHz. This has been made possible by an optical link between the QCL and a near-IR Optical Frequency Comb Synthesizer, thanks to a non-linear sum-frequency generation process with a fiber-amplified Nd:YAG laser. The implementation of a new spectroscopic technique, known as polarization spectroscopy, provides an improved signal for the locking loop, and will lead to a narrower laser emission and a drastic improvement in the frequency stability, that in principle is limited only by the stability of the optical frequency comb synthesizer (few parts in 1013). These results confirm quantum cascade lasers as reliable sources not only for high-sensitivity, but also for highprecision measurements, ranking them as optimal laser sources for space applications.

  14. Frequency Locking and Monitoring Based on Bi-directional Terahertz Radiation of a 3rd-Order Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Laser

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Marrewijk, N.; Mirzaei, B.; Hayton, D.; Gao, J.R.; Kao, T.Y.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J.L.

    2015-01-01

    We have performed frequency locking of a dual, forward reverse emitting third-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (QCL) at 3.5 THz. By using both directions of THz emission in combination with two gas cells and two power detectors, we can for the first time perform frequency

  15. Quantum cascade laser infrared spectroscopy of single cancer cells

    KAUST Repository

    Patel, Imran; Rajamanickam, Vijayakumar Palanisamy; Bertoncini, Andrea; Pagliari, Francesca; Tirinato, Luca; Laptenok, Sergey P.; Liberale, Carlo

    2017-01-01

    Quantum cascade laser infrared spectroscopy is a next generation novel imaging technique allowing high resolution spectral imaging of cells. We show after spectral pre-processing, identification of different cancer cell populations within minutes.

  16. Quantum cascade laser infrared spectroscopy of single cancer cells

    KAUST Repository

    Patel, Imran

    2017-03-27

    Quantum cascade laser infrared spectroscopy is a next generation novel imaging technique allowing high resolution spectral imaging of cells. We show after spectral pre-processing, identification of different cancer cell populations within minutes.

  17. Polarised two-photon excitation of quantum well excitons for manipulation of optically pumped terahertz lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slavcheva, G., E-mail: gsk23@bath.ac.uk [Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Kavokin, A.V., E-mail: A.Kavokin@soton.ac.uk [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Spin Optics Laboratory, St. Petersburg State University, 1, Ulyanovskaya 198504 (Russian Federation)

    2014-11-15

    Optical pumping of excited exciton states in a semiconductor quantum well embedded in a microcavity is a tool for realisation of ultra-compact terahertz (THz) lasers based on stimulated optical transition between excited (2p) and ground (1s) exciton state. We show that the probability of two-photon absorption by a 2p-exciton is strongly dependent on the polarisation of both pumping photons. Five-fold variation of the threshold power for terahertz lasing by switching from circular to co-linear pumping is predicted. We identify photon polarisation configurations for achieving maximum THz photon generation quantum efficiency.

  18. LDRD final report on continuous wave intersubband terahertz sources.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samora, Sally; Mangan, Michael A.; Foltynowicz, Robert J.; Young, Erik W.; Fuller, Charles T.; Stephenson, Larry L.; Reno, John Louis; Wanke, Michael Clement; Hudgens, James J.

    2005-02-01

    There is a general lack of compact electromagnetic radiation sources between 1 and 10 terahertz (THz). This a challenging spectral region lying between optical devices at high frequencies and electronic devices at low frequencies. While technologically very underdeveloped the THz region has the promise to be of significant technological importance, yet demonstrating its relevance has proven difficult due to the immaturity of the area. While the last decade has seen much experimental work in ultra-short pulsed terahertz sources, many applications will require continuous wave (cw) sources, which are just beginning to demonstrate adequate performance for application use. In this project, we proposed examination of two potential THz sources based on intersubband semiconductor transitions, which were as yet unproven. In particular we wished to explore quantum cascade lasers based sources and electronic based harmonic generators. Shortly after the beginning of the project, we shifted our emphasis to the quantum cascade lasers due to two events; the publication of the first THz quantum cascade laser by another group thereby proving feasibility, and the temporary shut down of the UC Santa Barbara free-electron lasers which were to be used as the pump source for the harmonic generation. The development efforts focused on two separate cascade laser thrusts. The ultimate goal of the first thrust was for a quantum cascade laser to simultaneously emit two mid-infrared frequencies differing by a few THz and to use these to pump a non-linear optical material to generate THz radiation via parametric interactions in a specifically engineered intersubband transition. While the final goal was not realized by the end of the project, many of the completed steps leading to the goal will be described in the report. The second thrust was to develop direct THz QC lasers operating at terahertz frequencies. This is simpler than a mixing approach, and has now been demonstrated by a few groups

  19. Room-temperature operation of quantum cascade lasers at a wavelength of 5.8 μm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Babichev, A. V. [Connector Optics LLC (Russian Federation); Bousseksou, A. [University Paris Saclay, Institut d’Electronique Fondamentale, UMR 8622 CNRS (France); Pikhtin, N. A.; Tarasov, I. S. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physical–Technical Institute (Russian Federation); Nikitina, E. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg Academic University—Nanotechnology Research and Education Center (Russian Federation); Sofronov, A. N.; Firsov, D. A.; Vorobjev, L. E. [Peter-the-Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University (Russian Federation); Novikov, I. I.; Karachinsky, L. Ya.; Egorov, A. Yu., E-mail: anton.egorov@connector-optics.com [Connector Optics LLC (Russian Federation)

    2016-10-15

    The room-temperature generation of multiperiod quantum-cascade lasers (QCL) at a wavelength of 5.8 μm in the pulsed mode is demonstrated. The heterostructure of a quantum-cascade laser based on a heterojunction of InGaAs/InAlAs alloys is grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and incorporates 60 identical cascades. The threshold current density of the stripe laser 1.4 mm long and 22 μm wide is ~4.8 kA/cm{sup 2} at a temperature of 303 K. The maximum power of the optical-radiation output from one QCL face, recorded by a detector, is 88 mW. The actual optical-power output from one QCL face is no less than 150 mW. The results obtained and possible ways of optimizing the structure of the developed quantum-cascade lasers are discussed.

  20. Photonic quasi-crystal terahertz lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitiello, Miriam Serena; Nobile, Michele; Ronzani, Alberto; Tredicucci, Alessandro; Castellano, Fabrizio; Talora, Valerio; Li, Lianhe; Linfield, Edmund H.; Davies, A. Giles

    2014-12-01

    Quasi-crystal structures do not present a full spatial periodicity but are nevertheless constructed starting from deterministic generation rules. When made of different dielectric materials, they often possess fascinating optical properties, which lie between those of periodic photonic crystals and those of a random arrangement of scatterers. Indeed, they can support extended band-like states with pseudogaps in the energy spectrum, but lacking translational invariance, they also intrinsically feature a pattern of ‘defects’, which can give rise to critically localized modes confined in space, similar to Anderson modes in random structures. If used as laser resonators, photonic quasi-crystals open up design possibilities that are simply not possible in a conventional periodic photonic crystal. In this letter, we exploit the concept of a 2D photonic quasi crystal in an electrically injected laser; specifically, we pattern the top surface of a terahertz quantum-cascade laser with a Penrose tiling of pentagonal rotational symmetry, reaching 0.1-0.2% wall-plug efficiencies and 65 mW peak output powers with characteristic surface-emitting conical beam profiles, result of the rich quasi-crystal Fourier spectrum.

  1. Active mode locking of quantum cascade lasers in an external ring cavity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revin, D G; Hemingway, M; Wang, Y; Cockburn, J W; Belyanin, A

    2016-05-05

    Stable ultrashort light pulses and frequency combs generated by mode-locked lasers have many important applications including high-resolution spectroscopy, fast chemical detection and identification, studies of ultrafast processes, and laser metrology. While compact mode-locked lasers emitting in the visible and near infrared range have revolutionized photonic technologies, the systems operating in the mid-infrared range where most gases have their strong absorption lines, are bulky and expensive and rely on nonlinear frequency down-conversion. Quantum cascade lasers are the most powerful and versatile compact light sources in the mid-infrared range, yet achieving their mode-locked operation remains a challenge, despite dedicated effort. Here we report the demonstration of active mode locking of an external-cavity quantum cascade laser. The laser operates in the mode-locked regime at room temperature and over the full dynamic range of injection currents.

  2. Fast gas spectroscopy using pulsed quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, T.; Braun, M.; Lambrecht, A.

    2003-03-01

    Laser spectroscopy has found many industrial applications, e.g., control of automotive exhaust and process monitoring. The midinfrared region is of special interest because it has stronger absorption lines compared to the near infrared (NIR). However, in the NIR high quality reliable laser sources, detectors, and passive optical components are available. A quantum cascade laser could change this situation if fundamental advantages can be exploited with compact and reliable systems. It will be shown that, using pulsed lasers and available fast detectors, lower residual sensitivity levels than in corresponding NIR systems can be achieved. The stability is sufficient for industrial applications.

  3. Hot-phonon generation in THz quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spagnolo, V.; Vitiello, M. S.; Scamarcio, G.; Williams, B. S.; Kumar, S.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J. L.

    2007-12-01

    Observation of non-equilibrium optical phonons population associated with electron transport in THz quantum cascade lasers is reported. The phonon occupation number was measured by using a combination of micro-probe photoluminescence and Stokes/Anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy. Energy balance analysis allows us to estimate the phonon relaxation rate, that superlinearly increases with the electrical power in the range 1.5 W - 1.95 W, above laser threshold. This observation suggests the occurrence of stimulated emission of optical phonons.

  4. Freedom from band-gap slavery: from diode lasers to quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capasso, Federico

    2010-02-01

    Semiconductor heterostructure lasers, for which Alferov and Kromer received part of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000, are the workhorse of technologies such as optical communications, optical recording, supermarket scanners, laser printers and fax machines. They exhibit high performance in the visible and near infrared and rely for their operation on electrons and holes emitting photons across the semiconductor bandgap. This mechanism turns into a curse at longer wavelengths (mid-infrared) because as the bandgap, shrinks laser operation becomes much more sensitive to temperature, material defects and processing. Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL), invented in 1994, rely on a radically different process for light emission. QCLs are unipolar devices in which electrons undergo transitions between quantum well energy levels and are recycled through many stages emitting a cascade of photons. Thus by suitable tailoring of the layers' thickness, using the same heterostructure material, they can lase across the molecular fingerprint region from 3 to 25 microns and beyond into the far-infrared and submillimiter wave spectrum. High power cw room temperature QCLs and QCLs with large continuous single mode tuning range have found many applications (infrared countermeasures, spectroscopy, trace gas analysis and atmospheric chemistry) and are commercially available. )

  5. Multicomponent gas analysis using broadband quantum cascade laser spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reyes Reyes, A.; Hou, Z.; Van Mastrigt, E.; Horsten, R.C.; De Jongste, J.C.; Pijnenburg, M.W.; Urbach, H.P.; Bhattacharya, N.

    2014-01-01

    We present a broadband quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopic system covering the region between 850 and 1250 cm?1. Its robust multipass cavity ensures a constant interaction length over the entire spectral region. The device enables the detection and identification of numerous molecules present

  6. Surface-Emitting Distributed Feedback Terahertz Quantum-Cascade Lasers in Metal-Metal Waveguides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sushil; Williams, Benjamin S.; Qin, Qi; Lee, Alan W. M.; Hu, Qing; Reno, John L.

    2007-01-01

    Single-mode surface-emitting distributed feedback terahertz quantumcascade lasers operating around 2.9 THz are developed in metal-metal waveguides. A combination of techniques including precise control of phase of reflection at the facets, and u e of metal on the sidewalls to eliminate higher-order lateral modes allow robust single-mode operation over a range of approximately 0.35 THz. Single-lobed far-field radiation pattern is obtained using a pi phase-shift in center of the second-order Bragg grating. A grating device operating at 2.93 THz lased up to 149 K in pulsed mode and a temperature tuning of 19 .7 GHz was observed from 5 K to 147 K. The same device lased up to 78 K in continuous-wave (cw) mode emitting more than 6 m W of cw power at 5 K. ln general, maximum temperature of pulsed operation for grating devices was within a few Kelvin of that of multi-mode Fabry-Perot ridge lasers

  7. Photoacoustic Spectroscopy with Quantum Cascade Lasers for Trace Gas Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaetano Scamarcio

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Various applications, such as pollution monitoring, toxic-gas detection, noninvasive medical diagnostics and industrial process control, require sensitive and selectivedetection of gas traces with concentrations in the parts in 109 (ppb and sub-ppb range.The recent development of quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs has given a new aspect toinfrared laser-based trace gas sensors. In particular, single mode distributed feedback QCLsare attractive spectroscopic sources because of their excellent properties in terms of narrowlinewidth, average power and room temperature operation. In combination with these lasersources, photoacoustic spectroscopy offers the advantage of high sensitivity and selectivity,compact sensor platform, fast time-response and user friendly operation. This paper reportsrecent developments on quantum cascade laser-based photoacoustic spectroscopy for tracegas detection. In particular, different applications of a photoacoustic trace gas sensoremploying a longitudinal resonant cell with a detection limit on the order of hundred ppb ofozone and ammonia are discussed. We also report two QC laser-based photoacousticsensors for the detection of nitric oxide, for environmental pollution monitoring andmedical diagnostics, and hexamethyldisilazane, for applications in semiconductormanufacturing process.

  8. Spectrally high performing quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toor, Fatima

    Quantum cascade (QC) lasers are versatile semiconductor light sources that can be engineered to emit light of almost any wavelength in the mid- to far-infrared (IR) and terahertz region from 3 to 300 mum [1-5]. Furthermore QC laser technology in the mid-IR range has great potential for applications in environmental, medical and industrial trace gas sensing [6-10] since several chemical vapors have strong rovibrational frequencies in this range and are uniquely identifiable by their absorption spectra through optical probing of absorption and transmission. Therefore, having a wide range of mid-IR wavelengths in a single QC laser source would greatly increase the specificity of QC laser-based spectroscopic systems, and also make them more compact and field deployable. This thesis presents work on several different approaches to multi-wavelength QC laser sources that take advantage of band-structure engineering and the uni-polar nature of QC lasers. Also, since for chemical sensing, lasers with narrow linewidth are needed, work is presented on a single mode distributed feedback (DFB) QC laser. First, a compact four-wavelength QC laser source, which is based on a 2-by-2 module design, with two waveguides having QC laser stacks for two different emission wavelengths each, one with 7.0 mum/11.2 mum, and the other with 8.7 mum/12.0 mum is presented. This is the first design of a four-wavelength QC laser source with widely different emission wavelengths that uses minimal optics and electronics. Second, since there are still several unknown factors that affect QC laser performance, results on a first ever study conducted to determine the effects of waveguide side-wall roughness on QC laser performance using the two-wavelength waveguides is presented. The results are consistent with Rayleigh scattering effects in the waveguides, with roughness effecting shorter wavelengths more than longer wavelengths. Third, a versatile time-multiplexed multi-wavelength QC laser system that

  9. Multipurpose terahertz quantum cascade laser based system for industrial, environmental and meteorological applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taslakov, M; Simeonov, V; Bergh, H van den

    2008-01-01

    A portable system, based on a pulsed quantum cascade laser (QCL) is developed. The QCL operates at near to ambient temperature in a pulsed mode with relatively long pulse duration in the range of 200 - 500 ns. The system design is flexible, allowing its use for a number of open path or cell-internal applications. Due to the so called fingerprint spectral region, high haze and turbulence immunity and low beam divergence, this system can be used in various applications. The first group includes environmental monitoring of a number of trace gases as CH 4 , NH 3 , CO, O 3 , CO 2 , HNO 3 , hydrocarbons and many others. The meteorological applications include measuring the average humidity and temperature. Industrial surveillance control is another important application. Remote measurement of some physical parameters, as temperature or pressure, as well as for interferometric measurements are also possible. Space resolved study of air turbulence even in fog is another promising application. Security, speed control, open path data transfer and remote readout of information are but a few other real applications of our QCL based portable system

  10. Enhanced modeling of band nonparabolicity with application to a mid-IR quantum cascade laser structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, N; Radovanovic, J; Milanovic, V

    2014-01-01

    We analyze the influence of conduction-band nonparabolicity on bound electronic states in the active region of a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Our model assumes expansion of the conduction-band dispersion relation up to a fourth order in wavevector and use of a suitable second boundary condition at the interface of two III-V semiconductor layers. Numerical results, obtained by the transfer matrix method, are presented for two mid-infrared GaAs/Al 0.33 Ga 0.67 As QCL active regions, and they are in very good agreement with experimental data found in the literature. Comparison with a different nonparabolicity model is presented for the example of a GaAs/Al 0.38 Ga 0.62 As-based mid-IR QCL. Calculations have also been carried out for one THz QCL structure to illustrate the possible application of the model in the terahertz part of the spectrum. (paper)

  11. Surface emitting ring quantum cascade lasers for chemical sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szedlak, Rolf; Hayden, Jakob; Martín-Mateos, Pedro; Holzbauer, Martin; Harrer, Andreas; Schwarz, Benedikt; Hinkov, Borislav; MacFarland, Donald; Zederbauer, Tobias; Detz, Hermann; Andrews, Aaron Maxwell; Schrenk, Werner; Acedo, Pablo; Lendl, Bernhard; Strasser, Gottfried

    2018-01-01

    We review recent advances in chemical sensing applications based on surface emitting ring quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). Such lasers can be implemented in monolithically integrated on-chip laser/detector devices forming compact gas sensors, which are based on direct absorption spectroscopy according to the Beer-Lambert law. Furthermore, we present experimental results on radio frequency modulation up to 150 MHz of surface emitting ring QCLs. This technique provides detailed insight into the modulation characteristics of such lasers. The gained knowledge facilitates the utilization of ring QCLs in combination with spectroscopic techniques, such as heterodyne phase-sensitive dispersion spectroscopy for gas detection and analysis.

  12. Terahertz wave generation in coupled quantum dots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Yu-Rong; Guo Shi-Fang; Duan Su-Qing

    2012-01-01

    Based on coupled quantum dots, we present an interesting optical effect in a four-level loop coupled system. Both the two upper levels and the two lower levels are designed to be almost degenerate, which induces a considerable dipole moment. The terahertz wave is obtained from the low-frequency component of the photon emission spectrum. The frequency of the terahertz wave can be controlled by tuning the energy levels via designing the nanostructure appropriately or tuning the driving laser field. A terahertz wave with adjustable frequency and considerable intensity (100 times higher than that of the Rayleigh line) can be obtained. It provides an effective scheme for a terahertz source. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  13. Coherent quantum cascade laser micro-stripe arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. M. de Naurois

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available We have fabricated InP-based coherent quantum cascade laser micro-stripe arrays. Phase-locking is provided by evanescent coupling between adjacent stripes. Stripes are buried into semi-insulating iron doped InP. Lasing at room temperature is obtained at 8.4μm for stripe arrays comprising up to 16 emitters. Pure supermode emission is demonstrated via farfield measurements and simulations. The farfield pattern shows a dual-lobe emission, corroborating the predicted phase-locked antisymmetric supermode emission.

  14. Chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy using a directly modulated quantum cascade laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hangauer, Andreas; Nikodem, Michal; Wysocki, Gerard; Spinner, Georg

    2013-01-01

    Chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy (CLaDS) utilizing direct modulation of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) is presented. By controlling the laser bias nearly single- and dual-sideband CLaDS operation can be realized in an extremely simplified optical setup with no external optical modulators. Capability of direct single-sideband modulation is a unique feature of QCLs that exhibit a low linewidth enhancement factor. The developed analytical model shows excellent agreement with the experimental, directly modulated CLaDS spectra. This method overcomes major technical limitations of mid-infrared CLaDS systems by allowing significantly higher modulation frequencies and eliminating optical fringes introduced by external modulators

  15. Quantum cascade lasers, systems, and applications in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambrecht, Armin

    2005-03-01

    Since the invention of the Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) a decade ago an impressive progress has been achieved from first low temperature pulsed laser emission to continuous wave operation at room temperature. Distributed feedback (DFB) lasers working in pulsed mode at ambient temperatures and covering a broad spectral range in the mid infrared (MIR) are commercially available now. For many industrial applications e.g. automotive exhaust control and process monitoring, laser spectroscopy is an established technique, generally using near infrared (NIR) diode lasers. However, the mid infrared (MIR) spectral region is of special interest because of much stronger absorption lines compared to NIR. The status of QCL devices, system development and applications is reviewed. Special emphasis is given to the situation in Europe where a remarkable growth of QCL related R&D can be observed.

  16. Demonstration of a fully integrated superconducting receiver with a 2.7 THz quantum cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Wei; Lou, Zheng; Xu, Gang-Yi; Hu, Jie; Li, Shao-Liang; Zhang, Wen; Zhou, Kang-Min; Yao, Qi-Jun; Zhang, Kun; Duan, Wen-Ying; Shi, Sheng-Cai; Colombelli, Raffaele; Beere, Harvey E; Ritchie, David A

    2015-02-23

    We demonstrate for the first time the integration of a superconducting hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer and a quantum cascade laser (QCL) on the same 4-K stage of a single cryostat, which is of particular interest for terahertz (THz) HEB/QCL integrated heterodyne receivers for practical applications. Two key issues are addressed. Firstly, a low power consumption QCL is adopted for preventing its heat dissipation from destroying the HEB's superconductivity. Secondly, a simple spherical lens located on the same 4-K stage is introduced to optimize the coupling between the HEB and the QCL, which has relatively limited output power owing to low input direct current (DC) power. Note that simulation techniques are used to design the HEB/QCL integrated heterodyne receiver to avoid the need for mechanical tuning. The integrated HEB/QCL receiver shows an uncorrected noise temperature of 1500 K at 2.7 THz, which is better than the performance of the same receiver with all the components not integrated.

  17. Corneal tissue ablation using 6.1 μm quantum cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yong; Kang, Jin U.

    2012-03-01

    High absorption property of tissues in the IR range (λ> 2 μm) results in effective tissue ablation, especially near 3 μm. In the mid-infrared range, wavelengths of 6.1 μm and 6.45 μm fall into the absorption bands of the amide protein groups Amide-I and Amide-II, respectively. They also coincide with the deformation mode of water, which has an absorption peak at 6.1 μm. This coincidence makes 6.1 μm laser a better ablation tool that has promising effectiveness and minimum collateral damages than 3 μm lasers. In this work, we performed bovine corneal ablation test in-vitro using high-power 6.1μm quantum cascade laser (QCL) operated at pulse mode. Quantum cascade laser has the advantages of low cost, compact size and tunable wavelength, which makes it great alternative Mid-IR light source to conventional tunable free-electron lasers (FEL) for medical applications. Preliminary results show that effective corneal stroma craters were achieved with much less collateral damage in corneal tissue that contains less water. Future study will focus on optimizing the control parameters of QCL to attain neat and precise ablation of corneal tissue and development of high peak power QCL.

  18. A sulfur hexafluoride sensor using quantum cascade and CO2 laser-based photoacoustic spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocha, Mila; Sthel, Marcelo; Lima, Guilherme; da Silva, Marcelo; Schramm, Delson; Miklós, András; Vargas, Helion

    2010-01-01

    The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is a serious environmental problem and has stimulated the scientific community to pay attention to the need for detection and monitoring of gases released into the atmosphere. In this regard, the development of sensitive and selective gas sensors has been the subject of several research programs. An important greenhouse gas is sulphur hexafluoride, an almost non-reactive gas widely employed in industrial processes worldwide. Indeed it is estimated that it has a radiative forcing of 0.52 W/m(2). This work compares two photoacoustic spectrometers, one coupled to a CO(2) laser and another one coupled to a Quantum Cascade (QC) laser, for the detection of SF(6). The laser photoacoustic spectrometers described in this work have been developed for gas detection at small concentrations. Detection limits of 20 ppbv for CO(2) laser and 50 ppbv for quantum cascade laser were obtained.

  19. Generation of picosecond pulses and frequency combs in actively mode locked external ring cavity quantum cascade lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wójcik, Aleksander K.; Belyanin, Alexey; Malara, Pietro; Blanchard, Romain; Mansuripur, Tobias S.; Capasso, Federico

    2013-01-01

    We propose a robust and reliable method of active mode locking of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers and develop its theoretical description. Its key element is the use of an external ring cavity, which circumvents fundamental issues undermining the stability of mode locking in quantum cascade lasers. We show that active mode locking can give rise to the generation of picosecond pulses and phase-locked frequency combs containing thousands of the ring cavity modes

  20. Thermal Management of Quantum Cascade Lasers in an individually Addressable Array Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-02-08

    diode arrays, along with access to both front and rear facets. Hence, both laser and single-pass amplifier arrays can be accommodated. A module was... CW conditions at an emission wavelength of 9 m. OCIS codes: Semiconductor lasers , quantum cascade (140.5965), Laser arrays (140.3290) 1...Rubio, "Active coherent beam combining of diode lasers ," Opt. Lett. 36, 999-1001 (2011). 2. B. G. Saar, K. Creedon, L. Missaggia, C. A. Wang, M. K

  1. Tunable Microcavity-Stabilized Quantum Cascade Laser for Mid-IR High-Resolution Spectroscopy and Sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borri, Simone; Siciliani de Cumis, Mario; Insero, Giacomo; Bartalini, Saverio; Cancio Pastor, Pablo; Mazzotti, Davide; Galli, Iacopo; Giusfredi, Giovanni; Santambrogio, Gabriele; Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Eliyahu, Danny; Ilchenko, Vladimir; Akikusa, Naota; Matsko, Andrey; Maleki, Lute; De Natale, Paolo

    2016-02-17

    The need for highly performing and stable methods for mid-IR molecular sensing and metrology pushes towards the development of more and more compact and robust systems. Among the innovative solutions aimed at answering the need for stable mid-IR references are crystalline microresonators, which have recently shown excellent capabilities for frequency stabilization and linewidth narrowing of quantum cascade lasers with compact setups. In this work, we report on the first system for mid-IR high-resolution spectroscopy based on a quantum cascade laser locked to a CaF₂ microresonator. Electronic locking narrows the laser linewidth by one order of magnitude and guarantees good stability over long timescales, allowing, at the same time, an easy way for finely tuning the laser frequency over the molecular absorption line. Improvements in terms of resolution and frequency stability of the source are demonstrated by direct sub-Doppler recording of a molecular line.

  2. Plasmon-enhanced terahertz emission in self-assembled quantum dots by femtosecond pulses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carreño, F., E-mail: ferpo@fis.ucm.es; Antón, M. A., E-mail: antonm@fis.ucm.es; Melle, Sonia, E-mail: smelle@fis.ucm.es; Calderón, Oscar G., E-mail: oscargc@fis.ucm.es; Cabrera-Granado, E., E-mail: ecabrera@fis.ucm.es [Facultad de Óptica y Optometría, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/ Arcos de Jalón 118, 28037 Madrid (Spain); Cox, Joel, E-mail: jcox27@uwo.ca; Singh, Mahi R., E-mail: msingh@uwo.ca [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario, London N6A 3K7 (Canada); Egatz-Gómez, A., E-mail: Ana.Egatz-Gomez.1@nd.edu [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana 46556 (United States)

    2014-02-14

    A scheme for terahertz (THz) generation from intraband transition in a self-assembled quantum dot (QD) molecule coupled to a metallic nanoparticle (MNP) is analyzed. The QD structure is described as a three-level atom-like system using the density matrix formalism. The MNP with spherical geometry is considered in the quasistatic approximation. A femtosecond laser pulse creates a coherent superposition of two subbands in the quantum dots and produces localized surface plasmons in the nanoparticle which act back upon the QD molecule via dipole-dipole interaction. As a result, coherent THz radiation with a frequency corresponding to the interlevel spacing can be obtained, which is strongly modified by the presence of the MNP. The peak value of the terahertz signal is analyzed as a function of nanoparticle's size, the MNP to QD distance, and the area of the applied laser field. In addition, we theoretically demonstrate that the terahertz pulse generation can be effectively controlled by making use of a train of femtosecond laser pulses. We show that by a proper choice of the parameters characterizing the pulse train a huge enhancement of the terahertz signal is obtained.

  3. Extended electrical tuning of quantum cascade lasers with digital concatenated gratings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slivken, S.; Bandyopadhyay, N.; Bai, Y.; Lu, Q. Y.; Razeghi, M., E-mail: razeghi@eecs.northwestern.edu [Center for Quantum Devices, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208 (United States)

    2013-12-02

    In this report, the sampled grating distributed feedback laser architecture is modified with digital concatenated gratings to partially compensate for the wavelength dependence of optical gain in a standard high efficiency quantum cascade laser core. This allows equalization of laser threshold over a wide wavelength range and demonstration of wide electrical tuning. With only two control currents, a full tuning range of 500 nm (236 cm{sup −1}) has been demonstrated. Emission is single mode, with a side mode suppression of >20 dB.

  4. Tunable Microcavity-Stabilized Quantum Cascade Laser for Mid-IR High-Resolution Spectroscopy and Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Borri

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The need for highly performing and stable methods for mid-IR molecular sensing and metrology pushes towards the development of more and more compact and robust systems. Among the innovative solutions aimed at answering the need for stable mid-IR references are crystalline microresonators, which have recently shown excellent capabilities for frequency stabilization and linewidth narrowing of quantum cascade lasers with compact setups. In this work, we report on the first system for mid-IR high-resolution spectroscopy based on a quantum cascade laser locked to a CaF2 microresonator. Electronic locking narrows the laser linewidth by one order of magnitude and guarantees good stability over long timescales, allowing, at the same time, an easy way for finely tuning the laser frequency over the molecular absorption line. Improvements in terms of resolution and frequency stability of the source are demonstrated by direct sub-Doppler recording of a molecular line.

  5. Investigations of the polarization behavior of quantum cascade lasers by Stokes parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janassek, Patrick; Hartmann, Sébastien; Molitor, Andreas; Michel, Florian; Elsäßer, Wolfgang

    2016-01-15

    We experimentally investigate the full polarization behavior of mid-infrared emitting quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) in terms of measuring the complete Stokes parameters, instead of only projecting them on a linear polarization basis. We demonstrate that besides the pre-dominant linear TM polarization of the emitted light as governed by the selection rules of the intersubband transition, small non-TM contributions, e.g., circularly polarized light, are present reflecting the birefringent behavior of the semiconductor quantum well waveguide. Surprisingly unique is the persistence of these polarization properties well below laser threshold. These investigations give further insight into understanding, manipulating, and exploiting the polarization properties of QCLs, both from a laser point of view and with respect toward applications.

  6. Phase-locked, high power, mid-infrared quantum cascade laser arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, W.; Slivken, S.; Razeghi, M.

    2018-04-01

    We demonstrate phase-locked, high power quantum cascade laser arrays, which are combined using a monolithic, tree array multimode interferometer, with emission wavelengths around 4.8 μm. A maximum output power of 15 W was achieved from an eight-element laser array, which has only a slightly higher threshold current density and a similar slope efficiency compared to a Fabry-Perot laser of the same length. Calculated multimode interferometer splitting loss is on the order of 0.27 dB for the in-phase supermode. In-phase supermode operation with nearly ideal behavior is demonstrated over the working current range of the array.

  7. Large static tuning of narrow-beam terahertz plasmonic lasers operating at 78K

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chongzhao Wu

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available A new tuning mechanism is demonstrated for single-mode metal-clad plasmonic lasers, in which the refractive-index of the laser’s surrounding medium affects the resonant-cavity mode in the same vein as the refractive-index of gain medium inside the cavity. Reversible, continuous, and mode-hop-free tuning of ∼57 GHz is realized for single-mode narrow-beam terahertz plasmonic quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs, which is demonstrated at a much more practical temperature of 78 K. The tuning is based on post-process deposition/etching of a dielectric (silicon-dioxide on a QCL chip that has already been soldered and wire-bonded onto a copper mount. This is a considerably larger tuning range compared to previously reported results for terahertz QCLs with directional far-field radiation patterns. The key enabling mechanism for tuning is a recently developed antenna-feedback scheme for plasmonic lasers, which leads to the generation of hybrid surface-plasmon-polaritons propagating outside the cavity of the laser with a large spatial extent. The effect of dielectric deposition on QCL’s characteristics is investigated in detail including that on maximum operating temperature, peak output power, and far-field radiation patterns. Single-lobed beam with low divergence (<7° is maintained through the tuning range. The antenna-feedback scheme is ideally suited for modulation of plasmonic lasers and their sensing applications due to the sensitive dependence of spectral and radiative properties of the laser on its surrounding medium.

  8. Carrier transport in THz quantum cascade lasers: Are Green's functions necessary?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matyas, A; Jirauschek, C; Kubis, T; Lugli, P

    2009-01-01

    We have applied two different simulation models for the stationary carrier transport and optical gain analysis in resonant phonon depopulation THz Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs), based on the semiclassical ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) and fully quantum mechanical non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) method, respectively. We find in the incoherent regime near and above the threshold current a qualitative and quantitative agreement of both methods. Therefore, we show that THz-QCLs can be successfully optimized utilizing the numerically efficient EMC method.

  9. Intensity autocorrelation measurements of frequency combs in the terahertz range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benea-Chelmus, Ileana-Cristina; Rösch, Markus; Scalari, Giacomo; Beck, Mattias; Faist, Jérôme

    2017-09-01

    We report on direct measurements of the emission character of quantum cascade laser based frequency combs, using intensity autocorrelation. Our implementation is based on fast electro-optic sampling, with a detection spectral bandwidth matching the emission bandwidth of the comb laser, around 2.5 THz. We find the output of these frequency combs to be continuous even in the locked regime, but accompanied by a strong intensity modulation. Moreover, with our record temporal resolution of only few hundreds of femtoseconds, we can resolve correlated intensity modulation occurring on time scales as short as the gain recovery time, about 4 ps. By direct comparison with pulsed terahertz light originating from a photoconductive emitter, we demonstrate the peculiar emission pattern of these lasers. The measurement technique is self-referenced and ultrafast, and requires no reconstruction. It will be of significant importance in future measurements of ultrashort pulses from quantum cascade lasers.

  10. Optical dynamics in low-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures. Quantum dots and quantum cascade lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weber, Carsten

    2008-07-01

    This work is focused on the optical dynamics of mesoscopic semiconductor heterostructures, using as prototypes zero-dimensional quantum dots and quantum cascade lasers which consist of quasitwo- dimensional quantum wells. Within a density matrix theory, a microscopic many-particle theory is applied to study scattering effects in these structures: the coupling to external as well as local fields, electron-phonon coupling, coupling to impurities, and Coulomb coupling. For both systems, the investigated effects are compared to experimentally observed results obtained during the past years. In quantum dots, the three-dimensional spatial confinement leads to the necessity to consider a quantum kinetic description of the dynamics, resulting in non-Markovian electron-phonon effects. This can be seen in the spectral phonon sidebands due to interaction with acoustic phonons as well as a damping of nonlinear Rabi oscillations which shows a nonmonotonous intensity and pulse duration dependence. An analysis of the inclusion of the self-interaction of the quantum dot shows that no dynamical local field terms appear for the simple two-level model. Considering local fields which have their origin in many quantum dots, consequences for a two-level quantum dot such as a zero-phonon line broadening and an increasing signal in photon echo experiments are found. For the use of quantum dots in an optical spin control scheme, it is found that the dephasing due to the electron-phonon interaction can be dominant in certain regimes. Furthermore, soliton and breather solutions are studied analytically in nonlinear quantum dot ensembles. Generalizing to quasi-two-dimensional structures, the intersubband dynamics of quantum cascade laser structures is investigated. A dynamical theory is considered in which the temporal evolution of the subband populations and the current density as well as the influence of scattering effects is studied. In the nonlinear regime, the scattering dependence and

  11. Chemical sensors based on quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tittel, Frank K.; Kosterev, Anatoliy A.; Rochat, Michel; Beck, Mattias; Faist, Jerome

    2002-09-01

    There is an increasing need in many chemical sensing applications ranging from industrial process control to environmental science and medical diagnostics for fast, sensitive, and selective gas detection based on laser spectroscopy. The recent availability of novel pulsed and cw quantum cascade distributed feedback (QC-DFB) lasers as mid-infrared spectroscopic sources address this need. A number of spectroscopic techniques have been demonstrated. For example, the authors have employed QC-DFB lasers for the monitoring and quantification of several trace gases and isotopic species in ambient air at ppmv and ppbv levels by means of direct absorption, wavelength modulation, cavity enhanced and cavity ringdown spectroscopy. In this work, pulsed thermoelectrically cooled QC-DFB lasers operating at ~15.6 μm were characterized for spectroscopic gas sensing applications. A new method for wavelength scanning based on the repetition rate modulation was developed. A non-wavelength-selective pyroelectric detector was incorporated in the gas sensor giving an advantage of room-temperature operation and low cost. Absorption lines of CO2 and H2O were observed in ambient air providing information about the concentration of these species.

  12. Dispersion compensated mid-infrared quantum cascade laser frequency comb with high power output

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Q. Y. Lu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Chromatic dispersion control plays an underlying role in optoelectronics and spectroscopy owing to its enhancement to nonlinear interactions by reducing the phase mismatching. This is particularly important to optical frequency combs based on quantum cascade lasers which require negligible dispersions for efficient mode locking of the dispersed modes into equally spaced comb modes. Here, we demonstrated a dispersion compensated mid-IR quantum cascade laser frequency comb with high power output at room temperature. A low-loss dispersive mirror has been engineered to compensate the device’s dispersion residue for frequency comb generation. Narrow intermode beating linewidths of 40 Hz in the comb-working currents were identified with a high power output of 460 mW and a broad spectral coverage of 80 cm-1. This dispersion compensation technique will enable fast spectroscopy and high-resolution metrology based on QCL combs with controlled dispersion and suppressed noise.

  13. Sub-nanometrically resolved chemical mappings of quantum-cascade laser active regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pantzas, Konstantinos; Beaudoin, Grégoire; Patriarche, Gilles; Largeau, Ludovic; Mauguin, Olivia; Sagnes, Isabelle; Pegolotti, Giulia; Vasanelli, Angela; Calvar, Ariane; Amanti, Maria; Sirtori, Carlo

    2016-01-01

    A procedure that produces sub-nanometrically resolved chemical mappings of MOCVD-grown InGaAs/InAlAs/InP quantum cascade lasers is presented. The chemical mappings reveal that, although the structure is lattice-matched to InP, the InAlAs barriers do not attain the nominal aluminum content—48%—and are, in fact, InGaAlAs quaternaries. This information is used to adjust the aluminum precursor flow and fine-tune the composition of the barriers, resulting in a significant improvement of the fabricated lasers. (paper)

  14. Exhaled breath profiling using broadband quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopy in healthy children and children with asthma and cystic fibrosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Mastrigt, E; Reyes-Reyes, A; Brand, K; Bhattacharya, N; Urbach, H P; Stubbs, A P; de Jongste, J C; Pijnenburg, M W

    2016-04-08

    Exhaled breath analysis is a potential non-invasive tool for diagnosing and monitoring airway diseases. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and electrochemical sensor arrays are the main techniques to detect volatile organic compounds (VOC) in exhaled breath. We developed a broadband quantum cascade laser spectroscopy technique for VOC detection and identification. The objective of this study was to assess the repeatability of exhaled breath profiling with broadband quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopy and to explore the clinical applicability by comparing exhaled breath samples from healthy children with those from children with asthma or cystic fibrosis (CF). Healthy children and children with stable asthma or stable CF, aged 6-18 years, were included. Two to four exhaled breath samples were collected in Tedlar bags and analyzed by quantum cascade laser spectroscopy to detect VOCs with an absorption profile in the wavenumber region between 832 and 1262.55 cm(-1). We included 35 healthy children, 39 children with asthma and 15 with CF. Exhaled breath VOC profiles showed poor repeatability (Spearman's rho  =  0.36 to 0.46) and agreement of the complete profiles. However, we were able to discriminate healthy children from children with stable asthma or stable CF and identified VOCs that were responsible for this discrimination. Broadband quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopy detected differences in VOC profiles in exhaled breath samples between healthy children and children with asthma or CF. The combination of a relatively easy and fast method and the possibility of molecule identification makes broadband quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopy attractive to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic potential of volatiles in exhaled breath.

  15. 36th Annual International Conference on Infrared Millimeter and Terahertz Waves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mittleman, Daniel M. [Rice University

    2011-12-31

    The Major Topic List of the 2011 conference featured a category entitled “IR, millimeter-wave, and THz spectroscopy,” another entitled “Gyro-Oscillators and Amplifiers, Plasma Diagnostics,” and a third called “Free Electron Lasers and Synchrotron Radiation.” Topical areas of interest to meeting participants include millimeter-wave electronics, high-power sources, high-frequency communications systems, and terahertz sensing and imaging, all of which are prominent in the research portfolios of the DOE. The development and study of new materials, components, and systems for use in the IR, THz, and MMW regions of the spectrum are of significant interest as well. a series of technical sessions were organized on the following topics: terahertz metamaterials and plasmonics; imaging techniques and applications; graphene spectroscopy; waveguide concepts; gyrotron science and technology; ultrafast terahertz measurements; and quantum cascade lasers.

  16. Free-space communication based on quantum cascade laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Chuanwei; Zhai Shenqiang; Zhang Jinchuan; Zhou Yuhong; Jia Zhiwei; Liu Fengqi; Wang Zhanguo

    2015-01-01

    A free-space communication based on a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser (QCL) is presented. A room-temperature continuous-wave distributed-feedback (DFB) QCL combined with a mid-infrared detector comprise the basic unit of the communication system. Sinusoidal signals at a highest frequency of 40 MHz and modulated video signals with a carrier frequency of 30 MHz were successfully transmitted with this experimental setup. Our research has provided a proof-of-concept demonstration of space optical communication application with QCL. The highest operation frequency of our setup was determined by the circuit-limited modulation bandwidth. A high performance communication system can be obtained with improved modulation circuit system. (paper)

  17. Applications of cw quantum cascade laser near 8 μm in gas sensing research

    KAUST Repository

    Sajid, Muhammad Bilal; Farooq, Aamir

    2014-01-01

    Quantum cascade laser based sensors operating near 8 μm to detect H2O2, C2H2, CH4, N2O and H2O are discussed and demonstrated for applications in chemical kinetics, combustion and spectroscopic measurements.

  18. Phenomenological scattering-rate model for the simulation of the current density and emission power in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurlov, S. S. [Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences, pr. Nauki 45, Kiev-03028 (Ukraine); Flores, Y. V.; Elagin, M.; Semtsiv, M. P.; Masselink, W. T. [Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Schrottke, L.; Grahn, H. T. [Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5–7, 10117 Berlin (Germany); Tarasov, G. G. [Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences, pr. Nauki 45, Kiev-03028 (Ukraine)

    2016-04-07

    A phenomenological scattering-rate model introduced for terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) [Schrottke et al., Semicond. Sci. Technol. 25, 045025 (2010)] is extended to mid-infrared (MIR) QCLs by including the energy dependence of the intersubband scattering rates for energies higher than the longitudinal optical phonon energy. This energy dependence is obtained from a phenomenological fit of the intersubband scattering rates based on published lifetimes of a number of MIR QCLs. In our approach, the total intersubband scattering rate is written as the product of the exchange integral for the squared moduli of the envelope functions and a phenomenological factor that depends only on the transition energy. Using the model to calculate scattering rates and imposing periodical boundary conditions on the current density, we find a good agreement with low-temperature data for current-voltage, power-current, and energy-photon flux characteristics for a QCL emitting at 5.2 μm.

  19. Carrier transport in THz quantum cascade lasers: Are Green's functions necessary?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matyas, A; Jirauschek, C [Emmy Noether Research Group ' Modeling of Quantum Cascade Devices' , TU Muenchen, D-80333 Muenchen (Germany); Kubis, T [Walter Schottky Institute, TU Muenchen, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Lugli, P, E-mail: alparmat@mytum.d [Institute of Nanoelectronics, TU Muenchen, D-80333 Muenchen (Germany)

    2009-11-15

    We have applied two different simulation models for the stationary carrier transport and optical gain analysis in resonant phonon depopulation THz Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs), based on the semiclassical ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) and fully quantum mechanical non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) method, respectively. We find in the incoherent regime near and above the threshold current a qualitative and quantitative agreement of both methods. Therefore, we show that THz-QCLs can be successfully optimized utilizing the numerically efficient EMC method.

  20. Quantum-cascade laser photoacoustic detection of methane emitted from natural gas powered engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocha, M. V.; Sthel, M. S.; Silva, M. G.; Paiva, L. B.; Pinheiro, F. W.; Miklòs, A.; Vargas, H.

    2012-03-01

    In this work we present a laser photoacoustic arrangement for the detection of the important greenhouse gas methane. A quantum-cascade laser and a differential photoacoustic cell were employed. A detection limit of 45 ppbv in nitrogen was achieved as well as a great selectivity. The same methodology was also tested in the detection of methane issued from natural gas powered vehicles (VNG) in Brazil, which demonstrates the excellent potential of this arrangement for greenhouse gas detection emitted from real sources.

  1. Quantum-cascade lasers in the 7-8 μm spectral range with full top metallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurochkin, A. S.; Babichev, A. V.; Denisov, D. V.; Karachinsky, L. Ya; Novikov, I. I.; Sofronov, A. N.; Firsov, D. A.; Vorobjev, L. E.; Bousseksou, A.; Egorov, A. Yu

    2018-03-01

    The paper demonstrates the generation of multistage quantum-cascade lasers (QCL) in the 7-8 μm spectral range in the pulse generation mode. The active region structure we used is based on a two-phonon resonance scheme. The QCL heterostructure based on a heteropair of In0.53Ga0.47As/Al0.48In0.52As solid alloys was grown by molecular beam epitaxy and includes 50 identical stages. A waveguide geometry with top cladding with full top metallization (surface- plasmon quantum-cascade lasers) has been used. The developed QCLs have demonstrated multimodal generation in the 7-8 μm spectral range in the pulse mode in the 78-250 K temperature range. The threshold current density for a 1.6 mm long laser and a 20 μm ridge width amounted to ˜ 2.8 kA/cm2 at a temperature of 78 К. A temperature increase to 250 K causes a long-wave shift of the wavelength from 7.6 to 7.9 μm and a jth increase to 5.0 kA/cm2.

  2. Phase locking of a 2.7 THz quantum cascade laser to a microwave reference

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Khosropanah, P.; Baryshev, A.; Zhang, W.; Jellema, W.; Hovenier, J.N.; Gao, J.R.; Klapwijk, T.M.; Paveliev, D.G.; Williams, B.S.; Kumar, S.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J.L.; Klein, B.; Hesler, J.L.

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate the phase locking of a 2.7 THz metal–metal waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) to an external microwave signal. The reference is the 15th harmonic, generated by a semiconductor superlattice nonlinear device, of a signal at 182 GHz, which itself is generated by a multiplier chain

  3. Phase locking of a 2.7 THz quantum cascade laser to a microwave reference

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Khosropanah, P.; Baryshev, A.; Zhang, W.; Jellema, W.; Hovenier, J. N.; Gao, J. R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Paveliev, D. G.; Williams, B. S.; Kumar, S.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J. L.; Klein, B.; Hesler, J. L.

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate the phase locking of a 2.7 THz metal-metal waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) to an external microwave signal. The reference is the 15th harmonic, generated by a semiconductor superlattice nonlinear device, of a signal at 182 GHz, which itself is generated by a multiplier chain

  4. Strain-free Ge/GeSiSn Quantum Cascade Lasers Based on L-Valley Intersubband Transitions

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Soret, R. A; Sun, G; Cheng, H; Menendez, J; Khurgin, J

    2007-01-01

    The authors propose a Ge/Ge0.76Si0.19Sn0.05 quantum cascade laser using intersubband transitions at L valleys of the conduction band which has a clean offset of 150 meV situated below other energy valleys Gamma and X...

  5. Continuous wave power scaling in high power broad area quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suttinger, M.; Leshin, J.; Go, R.; Figueiredo, P.; Shu, H.; Lyakh, A.

    2018-02-01

    Experimental and model results for high power broad area quantum cascade lasers are presented. Continuous wave power scaling from 1.62 W to 2.34 W has been experimentally demonstrated for 3.15 mm-long, high reflection-coated 5.6 μm quantum cascade lasers with 15 stage active region for active region width increased from 10 μm to 20 μm. A semi-empirical model for broad area devices operating in continuous wave mode is presented. The model uses measured pulsed transparency current, injection efficiency, waveguide losses, and differential gain as input parameters. It also takes into account active region self-heating and sub-linearity of pulsed power vs current laser characteristic. The model predicts that an 11% improvement in maximum CW power and increased wall plug efficiency can be achieved from 3.15 mm x 25 μm devices with 21 stages of the same design but half doping in the active region. For a 16-stage design with a reduced stage thickness of 300Å, pulsed roll-over current density of 6 kA/cm2 , and InGaAs waveguide layers; optical power increase of 41% is projected. Finally, the model projects that power level can be increased to 4.5 W from 3.15 mm × 31 μm devices with the baseline configuration with T0 increased from 140 K for the present design to 250 K.

  6. Indirect absorption spectroscopy using quantum cascade lasers: mid-infrared refractometry and photothermal spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeifer, Marcel; Ruf, Alexander; Fischer, Peer

    2013-11-04

    We record vibrational spectra with two indirect schemes that depend on the real part of the index of refraction: mid-infrared refractometry and photothermal spectroscopy. In the former, a quantum cascade laser (QCL) spot is imaged to determine the angles of total internal reflection, which yields the absorption line via a beam profile analysis. In the photothermal measurements, a tunable QCL excites vibrational resonances of a molecular monolayer, which heats the surrounding medium and changes its refractive index. This is observed with a probe laser in the visible. Sub-monolayer sensitivities are demonstrated.

  7. Quantum cascade laser-based photoacoustic sulfuryl fluoride sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minini, Kariza Mayra Silva; Bueno, Sâmylla Cristina Espécie; da Silva, Marcelo Gomes; Sthel, Marcelo Silva; Vargas, Helion; Angster, Judit; Miklós, András

    2017-02-01

    Although sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2) is an efficient fumigant that does not react with the surface of indoor materials and does not reduce the stratospheric ozone shield, there are some concerns about its use. It is a toxic gas that attacks the central nervous system, and its global warming potential (GWP) value is 4780 for 100 years' time. Therefore, it is a clear necessity of implementing detection methods for tracing such a molecule. In this work a sensitive photoacoustic setup was built to detect SO2F2 at concentrations of parts per billion by volume (ppbv). The symmetric S-O stretching mode was excited by a continuous-wave quantum cascade laser with radiation wavenumber ranging from 1275.7 to 1269.3 cm-1. The photoacoustic signal was generated by modulating the laser wavenumber at the first longitudinal mode of the photoacoustic cell with amplitude depth of 5 × 10-3 cm-1. The detection of a minimum SO2F2 concentration of 20 ppbv was achieved.

  8. Frequency locking of single-mode 3.5-THz quantum cascade lasers using a gas cell

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ren, Y.; Hovenier, J.N.; Cui, M.; Hayton, D.J.; Gao, J.R.; Klapwijk, T.M.; Shi, S.C.; Kao, T.Y.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J.L.

    2012-01-01

    We report frequency locking of two 3.5-THz third-order distributed feedback (DFB) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) by using methanol molecular absorption lines, a proportional-integral-derivative controller, and a NbN bolometer. We show that the free-running linewidths of the QCLs are dependent on the

  9. High performance 40-stage and 15-stage quantum cascade lasers based on two-material active region composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueiredo, P.; Suttinger, M.; Go, R.; Todi, A.; Shu, Hong; Tsvid, E.; Patel, C. Kumar N.; Lyakh, A.

    2017-05-01

    5.6μm quantum cascade lasers based on Al0.78In0.22As/In0.69Ga0.31As active region composition with measured pulsed room temperature wall plug efficiency of 28.3% are reported. Injection efficiency for the upper laser level of 75% was measured by testing devices with variable cavity length. Threshold current density of 1.7kA/cm2 and slope efficiency of 4.9W/A were measured for uncoated 3.15mm x 9µm lasers. Threshold current density and slope efficiency dependence on temperature in the range from 288K to 348K can be described by characteristic temperatures T0 140K and T1 710K, respectively. Pulsed slope efficiency, threshold current density, and wallplug efficiency for a 2.1mm x 10.4µm 15-stage device with the same design and a high reflection-coated back facet were measured to be 1.45W/A, 3.1kA/cm2 , and 18%, respectively. Continuous wave values for the same parameters were measured to be 1.42W/A, 3.7kA/cm2 , and 12%. Continuous wave optical power levels exceeding 0.5W per millimeter of cavity length was demonstrated. When combined with the 40-stage device data, the inverse slope efficiency dependence on cavity length for 15-stage data allowed for separate evaluation of the losses originating from the active region and from the cladding layers of the laser structure. Specifically, the active region losses for the studied design were found to be 0.77cm-1, while cladding region losses - 0.33cm-1. The data demonstrate that active region losses in mid wave infrared quantum cascade lasers largely define total waveguide losses and that their reduction should be one of the main priorities in the quantum cascade laser design.

  10. Integration of quantum cascade lasers and passive waveguides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montoya, Juan, E-mail: juan.montoya@ll.mit.edu; Wang, Christine; Goyal, Anish; Creedon, Kevin; Connors, Michael; Daulton, Jeffrey; Donnelly, Joseph; Missaggia, Leo; Aleshire, Chris; Sanchez-Rubio, Antonio; Herzog, William [MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 244 Wood St, Lexington, Massachusetts 02420 (United States)

    2015-07-20

    We report on monolithic integration of active quantum cascade laser (QCL) materials with passive waveguides formed by using proton implantation. Proton implantation reduces the electron concentration in the QCL layers by creating deep levels that trap carriers. This strongly reduces the intersubband absorption and the free-carrier absorption in the gain region and surrounding layers, thus significantly reducing optical loss. We have measured loss as low as α = 0.33 cm{sup −1} in λ = 9.6 μm wavelength proton-implanted QCL material. We have also demonstrated lasing in active-passive integrated waveguides. This simple integration technique is anticipated to enable low-cost fabrication in infrared photonic integrated circuits in the mid-infrared (λ ∼ 3–16 μm)

  11. Integration of quantum cascade lasers and passive waveguides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montoya, Juan; Wang, Christine; Goyal, Anish; Creedon, Kevin; Connors, Michael; Daulton, Jeffrey; Donnelly, Joseph; Missaggia, Leo; Aleshire, Chris; Sanchez-Rubio, Antonio; Herzog, William

    2015-01-01

    We report on monolithic integration of active quantum cascade laser (QCL) materials with passive waveguides formed by using proton implantation. Proton implantation reduces the electron concentration in the QCL layers by creating deep levels that trap carriers. This strongly reduces the intersubband absorption and the free-carrier absorption in the gain region and surrounding layers, thus significantly reducing optical loss. We have measured loss as low as α = 0.33 cm −1 in λ = 9.6 μm wavelength proton-implanted QCL material. We have also demonstrated lasing in active-passive integrated waveguides. This simple integration technique is anticipated to enable low-cost fabrication in infrared photonic integrated circuits in the mid-infrared (λ ∼ 3–16 μm)

  12. Absolute spectroscopy near 7.8 {\\mu} m with a comb-locked extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser

    KAUST Repository

    Lamperti, Marco; Alsaif, Bidoor; Gatti, Davide; Fermann, Martin; Laporta, Paolo; Farooq, Aamir; Marangoni, Marco

    2017-01-01

    We report the first experimental demonstration of frequency-locking of an extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser (EC-QCL) to a near-infrared frequency comb. The locking scheme is applied to carry out absolute spectroscopy of N2O lines near 7.87 {\\mu

  13. Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Photoacoustic Sensor for Trace Detection of Formaldehyde Gas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pietro Mario Lugarà

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available We report on the development of a photoacoustic sensor for the detection of formaldehyde (CH2O using a thermoelectrically cooled distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser operating in pulsed mode at 5.6 mm. A resonant photoacoustic cell, equipped with four electret microphones, is excited in its first longitudinal mode at 1,380 Hz. The absorption line at 1,778.9 cm-1 is selected for CH2O detection. A detection limit of 150 parts per billion in volume in nitrogen is achieved using a 10 seconds time constant and 4 mW laser power. Measurements in ambient air will require water vapour filters.

  14. Cascade quantum teleportation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHOU Nan-run; GONG Li-hua; LIU Ye

    2006-01-01

    In this letter a cascade quantum teleportation scheme is proposed. The proposed scheme needs less local quantum operations than those of quantum multi-teleportation. A quantum teleportation scheme based on entanglement swapping is presented and compared with the cascade quantum teleportation scheme. Those two schemes can effectively teleport quantum information and extend the distance of quantum communication.

  15. Applications of quantum cascade lasers in plasma diagnostics: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Röpcke, J; Lang, N; Davies, P B; Rousseau, A; Welzel, S

    2012-01-01

    Over the past few years mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy based on quantum cascade lasers operating over the region from 3 to 12 µm and called quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy or QCLAS has progressed considerably as a powerful diagnostic technique for in situ studies of the fundamental physics and chemistry of molecular plasmas. The increasing interest in processing plasmas containing hydrocarbons, fluorocarbons, nitrogen oxides and organo-silicon compounds has led to further applications of QCLAS because most of these compounds and their decomposition products are infrared active. QCLAS provides a means of determining the absolute concentrations of the ground states of stable and transient molecular species at time resolutions below a microsecond, which is of particular importance for the investigation of reaction kinetics and dynamics. Information about gas temperature and population densities can also be derived from QCLAS measurements. Since plasmas with molecular feed gases are used in many applications such as thin film deposition, semiconductor processing, surface activation and cleaning, and materials and waste treatment, this has stimulated the adaptation of QCLAS techniques to industrial requirements including the development of new diagnostic equipment. The recent availability of external cavity (EC) QCLs offers a further new option for multi-component detection. The aim of this paper is fourfold: (i) to briefly review spectroscopic issues arising from applying pulsed QCLs, (ii) to report on recent achievements in our understanding of molecular phenomena in plasmas and at surfaces, (iii) to describe the current status of industrial process monitoring in the mid-infrared and (iv) to discuss the potential of advanced instrumentation based on EC-QCLs for plasma diagnostics. (topical review)

  16. Advances in quantum cascade lasers for security and crime-fighting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Normand, Erwan L.; Stokes, Robert J.; Hay, Kenneth; Foulger, Brian; Lewis, Colin

    2010-10-01

    Advances in the application of Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) to trace gas detection will be presented. The solution is real time (~1 μsec per scan), is insensitive to turbulence and vibration, and performs multiple measurements in one sweep. The QCL provides a large dynamic range, which is a linear response from ppt to % level. The concentration can be derived with excellent immunity from cross interference. Point sensing sensors developed by Cascade for home made and commercial explosives operate by monitoring key constituents in real time and matching this to a spatial event (i.e. sniffer device placed close to an object or person walking through portal (overt or covert). Programmable signature detection capability allows for detection of multiple chemical compounds along the most likely array of explosive chemical formulation. The advantages of configuration as "point sensing" or "stand off" will be discussed. In addition to explosives this method is highly applicable to the detection of mobile drugs labs through volatile chemical release.

  17. Cascade laser applications: trends and challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    d'Humières, B.; Margoto, Éric; Fazilleau, Yves

    2016-03-01

    When analyses need rapid measurements, cost effective monitoring and miniaturization, tunable semiconductor lasers can be very good sources. Indeed, applications like on-field environmental gas analysis or in-line industrial process control are becoming available thanks to the advantage of tunable semiconductor lasers. Advances in cascade lasers (CL) are revolutionizing Mid-IR spectroscopy with two alternatives: interband cascade lasers (ICL) in the 3-6μm spectrum and quantum cascade lasers (QCL), with more power from 3 to 300μm. The market is getting mature with strong players for driving applications like industry, environment, life science or transports. CL are not the only Mid-IR laser source. In fact, a strong competition is now taking place with other technologies like: OPO, VCSEL, Solid State lasers, Gas, SC Infrared or fiber lasers. In other words, CL have to conquer a share of the Mid-IR application market. Our study is a market analysis of CL technologies and their applications. It shows that improvements of components performance, along with the progress of infrared laser spectroscopy will drive the CL market growth. We compare CL technologies with other Mid-IR sources and estimate their share in each application market.

  18. Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Infrared Microscopy for Label-Free and Automated Cancer Classification in Tissue Sections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuepper, Claus; Kallenbach-Thieltges, Angela; Juette, Hendrik; Tannapfel, Andrea; Großerueschkamp, Frederik; Gerwert, Klaus

    2018-05-16

    A feasibility study using a quantum cascade laser-based infrared microscope for the rapid and label-free classification of colorectal cancer tissues is presented. Infrared imaging is a reliable, robust, automated, and operator-independent tissue classification method that has been used for differential classification of tissue thin sections identifying tumorous regions. However, long acquisition time by the so far used FT-IR-based microscopes hampered the clinical translation of this technique. Here, the used quantum cascade laser-based microscope provides now infrared images for precise tissue classification within few minutes. We analyzed 110 patients with UICC-Stage II and III colorectal cancer, showing 96% sensitivity and 100% specificity of this label-free method as compared to histopathology, the gold standard in routine clinical diagnostics. The main hurdle for the clinical translation of IR-Imaging is overcome now by the short acquisition time for high quality diagnostic images, which is in the same time range as frozen sections by pathologists.

  19. Progress in Rapidly-Tunable External Cavity Quantum Cascade Lasers with a Frequency-Shifted Feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arkadiy Lyakh

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The recent demonstration of external cavity quantum cascade lasers with optical feedback, controlled by an acousto-optic modulator, paves the way to ruggedized infrared laser systems with the capability of tuning the emission wavelength on a microsecond scale. Such systems are of great importance for various critical applications requiring ultra-rapid wavelength tuning, including combustion and explosion diagnostics and standoff detection. In this paper, recent research results on these devices are summarized and the advantages of the new configuration are analyzed in the context of practical applications.

  20. Anisotropic effects of terahertz emission from laser sparks in air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zharova, N. A.; Mironov, V. A.; Fadeev, D. A.

    2010-01-01

    Strong terahertz (THz) radiation can be generated by intense femtosecond laser pulses propagating in air. The excitation of transient current induced in the wake just behind the laser pulse is studied in detail using numerical simulations on the basis of Maxwell's equations for THz-band fields and hydrodynamic model for the plasma motion. It is shown that the thermal effects, anisotropic in character in the case of linear polarized laser field, can explain observed quadrupole-type THz radiation pattern in the experiment performed by Akhmedzhanov et al. [Radiophys. Quantum Electron. 52, 482 (2009)]. Taking into account the transverse structure of the plasma filament, our numerical code enables us to calculate the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of terahertz electron current, its spectrum, and angular emission pattern. It is shown that an expansion of full fields in terms of azimuthal modes is a useful tool for research of THz generation in many situations of practical interest.

  1. A calibration-free ammonia breath sensor using a quantum cascade laser with WMS 2f/1f

    KAUST Repository

    Owen, Kyle; Farooq, Aamir

    2013-01-01

    modulation spectroscopy with second harmonic normalized by the first harmonic (WMS 2f/1f) is a sensitive technique used in the development of calibration-free sensors. An ammonia gas sensor is designed and developed that uses a quantum cascade laser operating

  2. A quartz enhanced photo-acoustic gas sensor based on a custom tuning fork and a terahertz quantum cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patimisco, Pietro; Borri, Simone; Sampaolo, Angelo; Beere, Harvey E; Ritchie, David A; Vitiello, Miriam S; Scamarcio, Gaetano; Spagnolo, Vincenzo

    2014-05-07

    An innovative quartz enhanced photoacoustic (QEPAS) gas sensing system operating in the THz spectral range and employing a custom quartz tuning fork (QTF) is described. The QTF dimensions are 3.3 cm × 0.4 cm × 0.8 cm, with the two prongs spaced by ∼800 μm. To test our sensor we used a quantum cascade laser as the light source and selected a methanol rotational absorption line at 131.054 cm(-1) (∼3.93 THz), with line-strength S = 4.28 × 10(-21) cm mol(-1). The sensor was operated at 10 Torr pressure on the first flexion QTF resonance frequency of 4245 Hz. The corresponding Q-factor was 74 760. Stepwise concentration measurements were performed to verify the linearity of the QEPAS signal as a function of the methanol concentration. The achieved sensitivity of the system is 7 parts per million in 4 seconds, corresponding to a QEPAS normalized noise-equivalent absorption of 2 × 10(-10) W cm(-1) Hz(-1/2), comparable with the best result of mid-IR QEPAS systems.

  3. Low-Loss Hollow Waveguide Fibers for Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Laser Sensing Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James A. Harrington

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We report on single mode optical transmission of hollow core glass waveguides (HWG coupled with an external cavity mid-IR quantum cascade lasers (QCLs. The QCL mode results perfectly matched to the hybrid HE11 waveguide mode and the higher losses TE-like modes have efficiently suppressed by the deposited inner dielectric coating. Optical losses down to 0.44 dB/m and output beam divergence of ~5 mrad were measured. Using a HGW fiber with internal core size of 300 µm we obtained single mode laser transmission at 10.54 µm and successful employed it in a quartz enhanced photoacoustic gas sensor setup.

  4. Terahertz spectroscopy of shift currents resulting from asymmetric (110)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Priyadarshi, Shekhar; Leidinger, Markus; Pierz, Klaus; Racu, Ana M.; Siegner, Uwe; Bieler, Mark; Dawson, Philip

    2009-01-01

    We report the observation and the study of an additional shift current tensor element in (110)-oriented GaAs quantum wells, which arises from an out-of-plane asymmetry of the quantum well structure. The current resulting from this tensor element is optically induced with 150 fs laser pulses and detected by measuring the simultaneously emitted terahertz radiation. This terahertz spectroscopy of shift currents is a powerful technique for symmetry investigations, which shows, for example, that our nominally symmetric (110)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy are in reality asymmetric structures with different right and left interfaces.

  5. Continuous wave room temperature external ring cavity quantum cascade laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Revin, D. G., E-mail: d.revin@sheffield.ac.uk; Hemingway, M.; Vaitiekus, D.; Cockburn, J. W. [Physics and Astronomy Department, The University of Sheffield, S3 7RH Sheffield (United Kingdom); Hempler, N.; Maker, G. T.; Malcolm, G. P. A. [M Squared Lasers Ltd., G20 0SP Glasgow (United Kingdom)

    2015-06-29

    An external ring cavity quantum cascade laser operating at ∼5.2 μm wavelength in a continuous-wave regime at the temperature of 15 °C is demonstrated. Out-coupled continuous-wave optical powers of up to 23 mW are observed for light of one propagation direction with an estimated total intra-cavity optical power flux in excess of 340 mW. The uni-directional regime characterized by the intensity ratio of more than 60 for the light propagating in the opposite directions was achieved. A single emission peak wavelength tuning range of 90 cm{sup −1} is realized by the incorporation of a diffraction grating into the cavity.

  6. Continuous wave room temperature external ring cavity quantum cascade laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Revin, D. G.; Hemingway, M.; Vaitiekus, D.; Cockburn, J. W.; Hempler, N.; Maker, G. T.; Malcolm, G. P. A.

    2015-01-01

    An external ring cavity quantum cascade laser operating at ∼5.2 μm wavelength in a continuous-wave regime at the temperature of 15 °C is demonstrated. Out-coupled continuous-wave optical powers of up to 23 mW are observed for light of one propagation direction with an estimated total intra-cavity optical power flux in excess of 340 mW. The uni-directional regime characterized by the intensity ratio of more than 60 for the light propagating in the opposite directions was achieved. A single emission peak wavelength tuning range of 90 cm −1 is realized by the incorporation of a diffraction grating into the cavity

  7. Development of terahertz laser diagnostics for electron density measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawahata, K; Akiyama, T; Tanaka, K; Nakayama, K; Okajima, S

    2008-10-01

    A two color laser interferometer using terahertz laser sources is under development for high performance operation on the large helical device and for future burning plasma experiments such as ITER. Through investigation of terahertz laser sources, we have achieved high power simultaneous oscillations at 57.2 and 47.6 microm of a CH(3)OD laser pumped by a cw 9R(8) CO(2) laser line. The laser wavelength around 50 microm is the optimum value for future fusion devices from the consideration of the beam refraction effect and signal-to-noise ratio for an expected phase shift due to plasma. In this article, recent progress of the terahertz laser diagnostics, especially in mechanical vibration compensation by using a two color laser operation and terahertz laser beam transmission through a dielectric waveguide, will be presented.

  8. Hot electron bolometer heterodyne receiver with a 4.7-THz quantum cascade laser as a local oscillator

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kloosterman, J.L.; Hayton, D.J.; Ren, Y.; Kao, T.Y.; Hovenier, J.N.; Gao, J.R.; Klapwijk, T.M.; Hu, Q.; Walker, C.K.; Reno, J.L.

    2013-01-01

    We report on a heterodyne receiver designed to observe the astrophysically important neutral atomic oxygen [OI] line at 4.7448?THz. The local oscillator is a third-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser operating in continuous wave mode at 4.741?THz. A quasi-optical, superconducting NbN

  9. Time-resolved temperature measurements in a rapid compression machine using quantum cascade laser absorption in the intrapulse mode

    KAUST Repository

    Nasir, Ehson Fawad; Farooq, Aamir

    2016-01-01

    A temperature sensor based on the intrapulse absorption spectroscopy technique has been developed to measure in situ temperature time-histories in a rapid compression machine (RCM). Two quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting near 4.55μm and 4.89μm

  10. Methane concentration and isotopic composition measurements with a mid-infrared quantum-cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosterev, A. A.; Curl, R. F.; Tittel, F. K.; Gmachl, C.; Capasso, F.; Sivco, D. L.; Baillargeon, J. N.; Hutchinson, A. L.; Cho, A. Y.

    1999-01-01

    A quantum-cascade laser operating at a wavelength of 8.1 micrometers was used for high-sensitivity absorption spectroscopy of methane (CH4). The laser frequency was continuously scanned with current over more than 3 cm-1, and absorption spectra of the CH4 nu 4 P branch were recorded. The measured laser linewidth was 50 MHz. A CH4 concentration of 15.6 parts in 10(6) ( ppm) in 50 Torr of air was measured in a 43-cm path length with +/- 0.5-ppm accuracy when the signal was averaged over 400 scans. The minimum detectable absorption in such direct absorption measurements is estimated to be 1.1 x 10(-4). The content of 13CH4 and CH3D species in a CH4 sample was determined.

  11. Nanoscale Laser Terahertz Emission Microscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klarskov, Pernille; Kim, Hyewon; Colvin, Vicki L.

    2017-01-01

    Laser terahertz emission microscopy (LTEM) has become a powerful tool for studying ultrafast dynamics and local fields in many different types of materials. This technique, which relies on acceleration of charge carriers in a material upon femtosecond excitation, can provide insight into the phys......Laser terahertz emission microscopy (LTEM) has become a powerful tool for studying ultrafast dynamics and local fields in many different types of materials. This technique, which relies on acceleration of charge carriers in a material upon femtosecond excitation, can provide insight...

  12. Applying Quantum Cascade Laser Spectroscopy in Plasma Diagnostics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jürgen Röpcke

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The considerably higher power and wider frequency coverage available from quantum cascade lasers (QCLs in comparison to lead salt diode lasers has led to substantial advances when QCLs are used in pure and applied infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, they can be used in both pulsed and continuous wave (cw operation, opening up new possibilities in quantitative time resolved applications in plasmas both in the laboratory and in industry as shown in this article. However, in order to determine absolute concentrations accurately using pulsed QCLs, careful attention has to be paid to features like power saturation phenomena. Hence, we begin with a discussion of the non-linear effects which must be considered when using short or long pulse mode operation. More recently, cw QCLs have been introduced which have the advantage of higher power, better spectral resolution and lower fluctuations in light intensity compared to pulsed devices. They have proved particularly useful in sensing applications in plasmas when very low concentrations have to be monitored. Finally, the use of cw external cavity QCLs (EC-QCLs for multi species detection is described, using a diagnostics study of a methane/nitrogen plasma as an example. The wide frequency coverage of this type of QCL laser, which is significantly broader than from a distributed feedback QCL (DFB-QCL, is a substantial advantage for multi species detection. Therefore, cw EC-QCLs are state of the art devices and have enormous potential for future plasma diagnostic studies.

  13. Photomlxer for terahertz electromagnetic wave emission comprising quantum dots in a laser cavity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    The present invention relates to a photomixer for generating terahertz electromagnetic radiation in response to illumination by a time-modulated optical signal. The photomixer (300) comprises a carrier substrate (310) with a plurality of quantum dots arranged in an emission region (308) thereof...

  14. Active mode-locking of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers with short gain recovery time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yongrui; Belyanin, Alexey

    2015-02-23

    We investigate the dynamics of actively modulated mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) using space- and time-domain simulations of coupled density matrix and Maxwell equations with resonant tunneling current taken into account. We show that it is possible to achieve active mode locking and stable generation of picosecond pulses in high performance QCLs with a vertical laser transition and a short gain recovery time by bias modulation of a short section of a monolithic Fabry-Perot cavity. In fact, active mode locking in QCLs with a short gain recovery time turns out to be more robust to the variation of parameters as compared to previously studied lasers with a long gain recovery time. We investigate the effects of spatial hole burning and phase locking on the laser output.

  15. Dual-wavelength DFB quantum cascade lasers: sources for multi-species trace gas spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapsalidis, Filippos; Shahmohammadi, Mehran; Süess, Martin J.; Wolf, Johanna M.; Gini, Emilio; Beck, Mattias; Hundt, Morten; Tuzson, Béla; Emmenegger, Lukas; Faist, Jérôme

    2018-06-01

    We report on the design, fabrication, and performance of dual-wavelength distributed-feedback (DFB) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting at several wavelengths in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectrum. In this work, two new designs are presented: for the first one, called "Neighbour" DFB, two single-mode DFB QCLs are fabricated next to each other, with minimal lateral distance, to allow efficient beam-coupling into multi-pass gas cells. In addition, the minimal distance allows either laser to be used as an integrated heater for the other, allowing to extend the tuning range of its neighbour without any electrical cross-talk. For the second design, the Vernier effect was used to realize a switchable DFB laser, with two target wavelengths which are distant by about 300 cm^{-1}. These devices are promising laser sources for Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy applications targeting simultaneous detection of multiple gasses, with distant spectral features, in compact and mobile setups.

  16. Mid infrared quantum cascade laser operating in pure amplitude modulation for background-free trace gas spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidaux, Yves; Bismuto, Alfredo; Patimisco, Pietro; Sampaolo, Angelo; Gresch, Tobias; Strubi, Gregory; Blaser, Stéphane; Tittel, Frank K; Spagnolo, Vincenzo; Muller, Antoine; Faist, Jérôme

    2016-11-14

    We present a single mode multi-section quantum cascade laser source composed of three different sections: master oscillator, gain and phase section. Non-uniform pumping of the QCL's gain reveals that the various laser sections are strongly coupled. Simulations of the electronic and optical properties of the laser (based on the density matrix and scattering matrix formalisms, respectively) were performed and a good agreement with measurements is obtained. In particular, a pure modulation of the laser output power can be achieved. This capability of the device is applied in tunable-laser spectroscopy of N2O where background-free quartz enhanced photo acoustic spectral scans with nearly perfect Voigt line shapes for the selected absorption line are obtained.

  17. NO kinetics in pulsed low-pressure nitrogen plasmas studied by time resolved quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Welzel, S.; Guaitella, O.; Lazzaroni, C.; Pintassilgo, C.; Rousseau, A.; Röpcke, J.

    2011-01-01

    Time-resolved quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy at 1897 cm-1 (5.27 µm) has been applied to study the NO(X) kinetics on the micro- and millisecond time scale in pulsed low-pressure N2/NO dc discharges. Experiments have been performed under flowing and static gas conditions to infer the

  18. An experimental study of noise in midinfrared quantum cascade lasers of different designs

    OpenAIRE

    Schilt, Stéphane; Tombez, Lionel; Tardy, Camille; Bismuto, Alfredo; Blaser, Stéphane; Maulini, Richard; Terazzi, Romain; Rochat, Michel; Südmeyer, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    We present an experimental study of noise in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) of differ-ent designs. By quantifying the high degree of correlation occurring between fluctuations of the optical frequency and voltage between the QCL terminals, we show that electrical noise is a powerful and simple mean to study noise in QCLs. Based on this outcome, we investigated the electrical noise in a large set of 22 QCLs emitting in the range of 7.6–8 μm and consisting of both ridge-waveguide and...

  19. Broadband external cavity quantum cascade laser based sensor for gasoline detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Junya; He, Tianbo; Zhou, Sheng; Li, Jinsong

    2018-02-01

    A new type of tunable diode spectroscopy sensor based on an external cavity quantum cascade laser (ECQCL) and a quartz crystal tuning fork (QCTF) were used for quantitative analysis of volatile organic compounds. In this work, the sensor system had been tested on different gasoline sample analysis. For signal processing, the self-established interpolation algorithm and multiple linear regression algorithm model were used for quantitative analysis of major volatile organic compounds in gasoline samples. The results were very consistent with that of the standard spectra taken from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) database. In future, The ECQCL sensor will be used for trace explosive, chemical warfare agent, and toxic industrial chemical detection and spectroscopic analysis, etc.

  20. Frequency stabilization of quantum cascade laser for spectroscopic CO2 isotope analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Luo; Xia, Hua; Pang, Tao; Zhang, Zhirong; Wu, Bian; Liu, Shuo; Sun, Pengshuai; Cui, Xiaojuan; Wang, Yu; Sigrist, Markus W.; Dong, Fengzhong

    2018-06-01

    Using off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy, named OA-ICOS, the absorption spectrum of CO2 at 4.32 μm is recorded by using a quantum cascade laser (QCL). The concentration of the three isotopologues 16O12C16O, 16O13C16O and 16O12C18O is detected simultaneously. The isotope abundance ratio of 13C and 18O in CO2 gas can be obtained, which is most useful for ecological research. Since the ambient temperature has a serious influence on the output wavelength of the laser, even small temperature variations seriously affect the stability and sensitivity of the system. In this paper, a wavelength locking technique for QCL is proposed. The output of a digital potentiometer integrated in the laser current driver control is modified by software, resulting in a correction of the driving current of the laser and thus of its wavelength. This method strongly reduces the influence of external factors on the wavelength drift of lasers and thus substantially improves the stability and performance of OA-ICOS as is demonstrated with long-time measurements on CO2 in laboratory air.

  1. Reversible switching of quantum cascade laser-modes using a pH-responsive polymeric cladding as transducer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basnar, Bernhard; Schartner, Stephan; Austerer, Maximilian; Andrews, Aaron Maxwell; Roch, Tomas; Schrenk, Werner; Strasser, Gottfried

    2008-06-09

    We present a novel approach for the reversible switching of the emission wavelength of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) using a halochromic cladding. An air-waveguide laser ridge is coated with a thin layer of polyacrylic acid. This cladding introduces losses corresponding to the absorption spectrum of the polymer. By changing the state of the polymer, the absorption spectrum and losses change, inducing a shift of 7 cm(-1) in the emission wavelength. This change is induced by exposure to acidic or alkaline vapors under ambient conditions and is fully reversible. Such lasers can be used as multi-color light source and as sensor for atmospheric pH.

  2. Overview of terahertz radiation sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallerano, G.P.; Biedron, S.G.

    2004-01-01

    Although terahertz (THz) radiation was first observed about hundred years ago, the corresponding portion of the electromagnetic spectrum has been for long time considered a rather poorly explored region at the boundary between the microwaves and the infrared. This situation has changed during the past ten years with the rapid development of coherent THz sources, such as solid state oscillators, quantum cascade lasers, optically pumped solid state devices and novel free electron devices, which have in turn stimulated a wide variety of applications from material science to telecommunications, from biology to biomedicine. For a comprehensive review of THz technology the reader is addressed to a recent paper by P. Siegel. In this paper we focus on the development and perspectives of THz radiation sources.

  3. Phase Locking of a 2.7 THz Quantum Cascade Laser to a Microwave Reference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khosropanah, P.; Baryshev, A.; Zhang, W.; Jellema, W.; Hovenier, J. N.; Gao, J. R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Paveliev, D. G.; Williams, B. S.; Hu, Q.; hide

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate the phase locking of a 2.7 THz metal-metal waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) to an external microwave signal. The reference is the 15th harmonic, generated by a semiconductor superlattice nonlinear device, of a signal at 182 GHz, which itself is generated by a multiplier chain (x 12) from a microwave synthesizer at approx. 15 GHz. Both laser and reference radiations are coupled into a bolometer mixer, resulting in a beat signal, which is fed into a phase-lock loop. The spectral analysis of the beat signal confirms that the QCL is phase locked. This result opens the possibility to extend heterodyne interferometers into the far-infrared range.

  4. Squeezing terahertz light into nanovolumes: Nanoantenna enhanced terahertz spectroscopy (NETS) of semiconductor quantum dots

    KAUST Repository

    Toma, Andrea

    2015-01-14

    Terahertz spectroscopy has vast potentialities in sensing a broad range of elementary excitations (e.g., collective vibrations of molecules, phonons, excitons, etc.). However, the large wavelength associated with terahertz radiation (about 300 μm at 1 THz) severely hinders its interaction with nano-objects, such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanotubes, and large molecules of biological relevance, practically limiting terahertz studies to macroscopic ensembles of these compounds, in the form of thick pellets of crystallized molecules or highly concentrated solutions of nanomaterials. Here we show that chains of terahertz dipole nanoantennas spaced by nanogaps of 20 nm allow retrieving the spectroscopic signature of a monolayer of cadmium selenide quantum dots, a significant portion of the signal arising from the dots located within the antenna nanocavities. A Fano-like interference between the fundamental antenna mode and the phonon resonance of the quantum dots is observed, accompanied by an absorption enhancement factor greater than one million. NETS can find immediate applications in terahertz spectroscopic studies of nanocrystals and molecules at extremely low concentrations. Furthermore, it shows a practicable route toward the characterization of individual nano-objects at these frequencies.

  5. A field-deployable compound-specific isotope analyzer based on quantum cascade laser and hollow waveguide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Sheng; Deev, Andrei

    2013-01-01

    A field deployable Compound Specific Isotope Analyzer (CSIA) coupled with capillary chromatogrpahy based on Quantum Cascade (QC) lasers and Hollow Waveguide (HWG) with precision and chemical resolution matching mature Mass Spectroscopy has been achieved in our laboratory. The system could realize 0.3 per mil accuracy for 12C/13C for a Gas Chromatography (GC) peak lasting as short as 5 seconds with carbon molar concentration in the GC peak less than 0.5%. Spectroscopic advantages of HWG when working with QC lasers, i.e. single mode transmission, noiseless measurement and small sample volume, are compared with traditional free space and multipass spectroscopy methods.

  6. Generation of high-power terahertz radiation by femtosecond-terawatt lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nashima, Shigeki; Hosoda, Makoto; Daido, Hiroyuki

    2007-01-01

    We observed electromagnetic waves in the terahertz (THz) frequency range from a Ti foil excited by tabletop terawatt (T-cube) laser pulses. The radiation power was increased drastically with increasing its laser power. We also investigated the polarization characteristics of the sub-terahertz wave. It is found that the polarization of the radiated sub-terahertz waves was parallel to the incident beam plane, which is independent on the pump laser polarization. These results indicate transient electric field to the incident plane is generated by laser-plasma interaction, i.e., laser wake field and coherent plasma wave. (author)

  7. Terahertz wave polarization beam splitter using a cascaded multimode interference structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiu-sheng; Liu, Han; Zhang, Le

    2014-08-01

    A terahertz wave polarization beam splitter, based on two cascaded multimode interference structures with different widths, is designed and numerically demonstrated. The numerical calculation results show that the designed polarization beam splitter can split transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM)-polarized terahertz waves into different propagation directions with high efficiency over a frequency range from 6.40 to 6.50 THz. This polarization beam splitter shows more than a 22.06 dB extinction ratio for TE-polarization and a 31.65 dB extinction ratio for TM-polarization. Using such a polarization beam splitter, the whole length of the polarization beam splitter is reduced to about 1/12 that of a conventional design. This enables the polarization beam splitter to be used in terahertz wave integrated circuit fields.

  8. Fast automotive diesel exhaust measurement using quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbst, J.; Brunner, R.; Lambrecht, A.

    2013-12-01

    Step by step, US and European legislations enforce the further reduction of atmospheric pollution caused by automotive exhaust emissions. This is pushing automotive development worldwide. Fuel efficient diesel engines with SCRtechnology can impede NO2-emission by reduction with NH3 down to the ppm range. To meet the very low emission limits of the Euro6 resp. US NLEV (National Low Emission Vehicle) regulations, automotive manufacturers have to optimize continuously all phases of engine operation and corresponding catalytic converters. Especially nonstationary operation holds a high potential for optimizing gasoline consumption and further reducing of pollutant emissions. Test equipment has to cope with demanding sensitivity and speed requirements. In the past Fraunhofer IPM has developed a fast emission analyzer called DEGAS (Dynamic Exhaust Gas Analyzer System), based on cryogenically cooled lead salt lasers. These systems have been used at Volkswagen AG`s test benches for a decade. Recently, IPM has developed DEGAS-Next which is based on cw quantum cascade lasers and thermoelectrically cooled detectors. The system is capable to measure three gas components (i.e. NO, NO2, NH3) in two channels with a time resolution of 20 ms and 1 ppm detection limits. We shall present test data and a comparison with fast FTIR measurements.

  9. Theoretical investigation of injection-locked high modulation bandwidth quantum cascade lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Bo; Wang, Qi Jie

    2012-01-16

    In this study, we report for the first time to our knowledge theoretical investigation of modulation responses of injection-locked mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) at wavelengths of 4.6 μm and 9 μm, respectively. It is shown through a three-level rate equations model that the direct intensity modulation of QCLs gives the maximum modulation bandwidths of ~7 GHz at 4.6 μm and ~20 GHz at 9 μm. By applying the injection locking scheme, we find that the modulation bandwidths of up to ~30 GHz and ~70 GHz can be achieved for QCLs at 4.6 μm and 9 μm, respectively, with an injection ratio of 5 dB. The result also shows that an ultrawide modulation bandwidth of more than 200 GHz is possible with a 10 dB injection ratio for QCLs at 9 μm. An important characteristic of injection-locked QCLs is the nonexistence of unstable locking region in the locking map, in contrast to their diode laser counterparts. We attribute this to the ultra-short upper laser state lifetimes of QCLs.

  10. Fabrication of a terahertz quantum-cascade laser with a double metal waveguide based on multilayer GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khabibullin, R. A., E-mail: khabibullin@isvch.ru; Shchavruk, N. V.; Pavlov, A. Yu.; Ponomarev, D. S.; Tomosh, K. N.; Galiev, R. R.; Maltsev, P. P. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultrahigh Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Zhukov, A. E.; Cirlin, G. E.; Zubov, F. I.; Alferov, Zh. I. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg Academic University—Nanotechnology Research and Education Center (Russian Federation)

    2016-10-15

    The Postgrowth processing of GaAs/AlGaAs multilayer heterostructures for terahertz quantumcascade lasers (QCLs) are studied. This procedure includes the thermocompression bonding of In–Au multilayer heterostructures with a doped n{sup +}-GaAs substrate, mechanical grinding, and selective wet etching of the substrate, and dry etching of QCL ridge mesastripes through a Ti/Au metallization mask 50 and 100 μm wide. Reactive-ion-etching modes with an inductively coupled plasma source in a BCl{sub 3}/Ar gas mixture are selected to obtain vertical walls of the QCL ridge mesastripes with minimum Ti/Au mask sputtering.

  11. Detection of acrolein and acrylonitrile with a pulsed room temperature quantum cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manne, J.; Jäger, W.; Tulip, J.

    2010-06-01

    We investigated the use of a pulsed, distributed feedback quantum cascade laser centered at 957 cm-1 in combination with an astigmatic Herriot cell with 250 m path length for the detection of acrolein and acrylonitrile. These molecules have been identified as hazardous air-pollutants because of their adverse health effects. The spectrometer utilizes the intra-pulse method, where a linear frequency down-chirp, that is induced when a top-hat current pulse is applied to the laser, is used for sweeping across the absorption line. Up to 450 ns long pulses were used for these measurements which resulted in a spectral window of ~2.2 cm-1. A room temperature mercury-cadmium-telluride detector was used, resulting in a completely cryogen free spectrometer. We demonstrated detection limits of ~3 ppb for acrylonitrile and ~6 ppb for acrolein with ~10 s averaging time. Laser characterization and optimization of the operational parameters for sensitivity improvement are discussed.

  12. Optical feedback in dfb quantum cascade laser for mid-infrared cavity ring-down spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terabayashi, Ryohei, E-mail: terabayashi.ryouhei@h.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Sonnenschein, Volker, E-mail: volker@nagoya-u.jp; Tomita, Hideki, E-mail: tomita@nagoya-u.jp; Hayashi, Noriyoshi, E-mail: hayashi.noriyoshi@h.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Kato, Shusuke, E-mail: katou.shuusuke@f.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Jin, Lei, E-mail: kin@nuee.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Yamanaka, Masahito, E-mail: yamanaka@nuee.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Nishizawa, Norihiko, E-mail: nishizawa@nuee.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Nagoya University, Department of Quantum Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering (Japan); Sato, Atsushi, E-mail: atsushi.sato@sekisui.com; Nozawa, Kohei, E-mail: kohei.nozawa@sekisui.com; Hashizume, Kenta, E-mail: kenta.hashizume@sekisui.com; Oh-hara, Toshinari, E-mail: toshinari.ohara@sekisui.com [Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd., Drug Development Solutions Center (Japan); Iguchi, Tetsuo, E-mail: t-iguchi@nucl.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Nagoya University, Department of Quantum Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering (Japan)

    2017-11-15

    A simple external optical feedback system has been applied to a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB QCL) for cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) and a clear effect of feedback was observed. A long external feedback path length of up to 4m can decrease the QCL linewidth to around 50kHz, which is of the order of the transmission linewidth of our high finesse ring-down cavity. The power spectral density of the transmission signal from high finesse cavity reveals that the noise at frequencies above 20kHz is reduced dramatically.

  13. Towards THz integrated photonics

    OpenAIRE

    Hübers, Heinz-Wilhelm

    2010-01-01

    The demonstration of an integrated terahertz transceiver featuring a quantum cascade laser and a Schottky diode mixer promises new applications for compact and convenient terahertz photonic instrumentation.

  14. Stable Single-Mode Operation of Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Laser by Optimized Reflectivity Facet Coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dong-Bo; Zhang, Jin-Chuan; Cheng, Feng-Min; Zhao, Yue; Zhuo, Ning; Zhai, Shen-Qiang; Wang, Li-Jun; Liu, Jun-Qi; Liu, Shu-Man; Liu, Feng-Qi; Wang, Zhan-Guo

    2018-02-01

    In this work, quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) based on strain compensation combined with two-phonon resonance design are presented. Distributed feedback (DFB) laser emitting at 4.76 μm was fabricated through a standard buried first-order grating and buried heterostructure (BH) processing. Stable single-mode emission is achieved under all injection currents and temperature conditions without any mode hop by the optimized antireflection (AR) coating on the front facet. The AR coating consists of a double layer dielectric of Al2O3 and Ge. For a 2-mm laser cavity, the maximum output power of the AR-coated DFB-QCL was more than 170 mW at 20 °C with a high wall-plug efficiency (WPE) of 4.7% in a continuous-wave (CW) mode.

  15. Phase locking of a 1.5 Terahertz quantum cascade laser and use as a local oscillator in a heterodyne HEB receiver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabanus, D; Graf, U U; Philipp, M; Ricken, O; Stutzki, J; Vowinkel, B; Wiedner, M C; Walther, C; Fischer, M; Faist, J

    2009-02-02

    We demonstrate for the first time the closure of an electronic phase lock loop for a continuous-wave quantum cascade laser (QCL) at 1.5 THz. The QCL is operated in a closed cycle cryo cooler. We achieved a frequency stability of better than 100 Hz, limited by the resolution bandwidth of the spectrum analyser. The PLL electronics make use of the intermediate frequency (IF) obtained from a hot electron bolometer (HEB) which is downconverted to a PLL IF of 125 MHz. The coarse selection of the longitudinal mode and the fine tuning is achieved via the bias voltage of the QCL. Within a QCL cavity mode, the free-running QCL shows frequency fluctuations of about 5 MHz, which the PLL circuit is able to control via the Stark-shift of the QCL gain material. Temperature dependent tuning is shown to be nonlinear, and of the order of -16 MHz/K. Additionally we have used the QCL as local oscillator (LO) to pump an HEB and perform, again for the first time at 1.5 THz, a heterodyne experiment, and obtain a receiver noise temperature of 1741 K.

  16. Time-resolved study of a pulsed dc discharge using quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy : NO and gas temperature kinetics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Welzel, S.; Gatilova, L.; Röpcke, J.; Rousseau, A.

    2007-01-01

    In a pulsed dc discharge of an Ar–N2 mixture containing 0.91% of NO the kinetics of the destruction of NO has been studied under static and flowing conditions, i.e. in a closed and open discharge tube (p = 266 Pa). For this purpose quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS) in the

  17. An external-cavity quantum cascade laser operating near 5.2 µm combined with cavity ring-down spectroscopy for multi-component chemical sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutta Banik, Gourab; Maity, Abhijit; Som, Suman; Pal, Mithun; Pradhan, Manik

    2018-04-01

    We report on the performance of a widely tunable continuous wave mode-hop-free external-cavity quantum cascade laser operating at λ ~ 5.2 µm combined with cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) technique for high-resolution molecular spectroscopy. The CRDS system has been utilized for simultaneous and molecule-specific detection of several environmentally and bio-medically important trace molecular species such as nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, carbonyl sulphide and acetylene (C2H2) at ultra-low concentrations by probing numerous rotationally resolved ro-vibrational transitions in the mid-IR spectral region within a relatively small spectral range of ~0.035 cm-1. This continuous wave external-cavity quantum cascade laser-based multi-component CRDS sensor with high sensitivity and molecular specificity promises applications in environmental sensing as well as non-invasive medical diagnosis through human breath analysis.

  18. Time-Resolved Quantum Cascade Laser Absorption Spectroscopy of Pulsed Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition Processes Containing BCl3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Norbert; Hempel, Frank; Strämke, Siegfried; Röpcke, Jürgen

    2011-08-01

    In situ measurements are reported giving insight into the plasma chemical conversion of the precursor BCl3 in industrial applications of boriding plasmas. For the online monitoring of its ground state concentration, quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS) in the mid-infrared spectral range was applied in a plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) reactor. A compact quantum cascade laser measurement and control system (Q-MACS) was developed to allow a flexible and completely dust-sealed optical coupling to the reactor chamber of an industrial plasma surface modification system. The process under the study was a pulsed DC plasma with periodically injected BCl3 at 200 Pa. A synchronization of the Q-MACS with the process control unit enabled an insight into individual process cycles with a sensitivity of 10-6 cm-1·Hz-1/2. Different fragmentation rates of the precursor were found during an individual process cycle. The detected BCl3 concentrations were in the order of 1014 molecules·cm-3. The reported results of in situ monitoring with QCLAS demonstrate the potential for effective optimization procedures in industrial PACVD processes.

  19. First quantitative measurements by IR spectroscopy of dioxins and furans by means of broadly tunable quantum cascade lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siciliani de Cumis, M; D’Amato, F; Viciani, S; Patrizi, B; Foggi, P; Galea, C L

    2013-01-01

    We demonstrate the possibility of a quantitative analysis of the concentration of several dioxins and furans, among the most toxic ones, by only using infrared absorption laser spectroscopy. Two broadly tunable quantum cascade lasers, emitting in the mid-infrared, have been used to measure the absorption spectra of dioxins and furans, dissolved in CCl 4 , in direct absorption mode. The minimum detectable concentrations are inferred by analyzing diluted samples. A comparison between this technique and standard Fourier transform spectroscopy has been carried out and an analysis of future perspectives is reported. (paper)

  20. Terahertz Active Photonic Crystals for Condensed Gas Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl Unterrainer

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The terahertz (THz spectral region, covering frequencies from 1 to 10 THz, is highly interesting for chemical sensing. The energy of rotational and vibrational transitions of molecules lies within this frequency range. Therefore, chemical fingerprints can be derived, allowing for a simple detection scheme. Here, we present an optical sensor based on active photonic crystals (PhCs, i.e., the pillars are fabricated directly from an active THz quantum-cascade laser medium. The individual pillars are pumped electrically leading to laser emission at cryogenic temperatures. There is no need to couple light into the resonant structure because the PhC itself is used as the light source. An injected gas changes the resonance condition of the PhC and thereby the laser emission frequency. We achieve an experimental frequency shift of 10−3 times the center lasing frequency. The minimum detectable refractive index change is 1.6 × 10−5 RIU.

  1. Interband cascade lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vurgaftman, I; Meyer, J R; Canedy, C L; Kim, C S; Bewley, W W; Merritt, C D; Abell, J; Weih, R; Kamp, M; Kim, M; Höfling, S

    2015-01-01

    We review the current status of interband cascade lasers (ICLs) emitting in the midwave infrared (IR). The ICL may be considered the hybrid of a conventional diode laser that generates photons via electron–hole recombination, and an intersubband-based quantum cascade laser (QCL) that stacks multiple stages for enhanced current efficiency. Following a brief historical overview, we discuss theoretical aspects of the active region and core designs, growth by molecular beam epitaxy, and the processing of broad-area, narrow-ridge, and distributed feedback (DFB) devices. We then review the experimental performance of pulsed broad area ICLs, as well as the continuous-wave (cw) characteristics of narrow ridges having good beam quality and DFBs producing output in a single spectral mode. Because the threshold drive powers are far lower than those of QCLs throughout the λ = 3–6 µm spectral band, ICLs are increasingly viewed as the laser of choice for mid-IR laser spectroscopy applications that do not require high output power but need to be hand-portable and/or battery operated. Demonstrated ICL performance characteristics to date include threshold current densities as low as 106 A cm −2 at room temperature (RT), cw threshold drive powers as low as 29 mW at RT, maximum cw operating temperatures as high as 118 °C, maximum cw output powers exceeding 400 mW at RT, maximum cw wallplug efficiencies as high as 18% at RT, maximum cw single-mode output powers as high as 55 mW at RT, and single-mode output at λ = 5.2 µm with a cw drive power of only 138 mW at RT. (topical review)

  2. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Terahertz and Mid Infrared Radiation

    CERN Document Server

    Pereira, Mauro F; Terahertz and Mid Infrared Radiation

    2011-01-01

    Terahertz (THz) and Mid-Infrared (MIR) radiation  (TERA-MIR) can be transmitted through nearly any material without causing biological harm. Novel and rapid methods of detection can be created with devices operation in these spectral ranges allowing scanning for weapons, detecting hidden explosives (including plastic landmines), controlling the quality of food and a host of other exciting applications.  This book focuses on mathematical and physical aspects of the field, on unifying these two spectral domains (THz and MIR) with regard to common sources, detectors, materials and applications, and on key interdisciplinary topics. The main THz and MIR source is the quantum cascade laser (QCL). Thus significant attention is paid to the challenge of turning this advanced technology into affordable commercial devices so as to exploit its enormous potential. However other alternatives to THz QCLs are also presented, e.g.  sub-terahertz imaging from avalanching GaAs bipolar transistors, Josephson junctions as THz ...

  3. High power cascade diode lasers emitting near 2 μm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hosoda, Takashi; Feng, Tao; Shterengas, Leon, E-mail: leon.shterengas@stonybrook.edu; Kipshidze, Gela; Belenky, Gregory [State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 (United States)

    2016-03-28

    High-power two-stage cascade GaSb-based type-I quantum well diode lasers emitting near 2 μm were designed and fabricated. Coated devices with cavity length of 3 mm generated about 2 W of continuous wave power from 100-μm-wide aperture at the current of 6 A. The power conversion efficiency peaked at 20%. Carrier recycling between quantum well gain stages was realized using band-to-band tunneling in GaSb/AlSb/InAs heterostructure complemented with optimized electron and hole injector regions. Design optimization eliminated parasitic optical absorption and thermionic emission, and included modification of the InAs quantum wells of electron and composition and doping profile of hole injectors. Utilization of the cascade pumping scheme yielded 2 μm lasers with improved output power and efficiency compared to existing state-of-the-art diodes.

  4. Quantum Transport Simulation of High-Power 4.6-μm Quantum Cascade Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olafur Jonasson

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available We present a quantum transport simulation of a 4.6- μ m quantum cascade laser (QCL operating at high power near room temperature. The simulation is based on a rigorous density-matrix-based formalism, in which the evolution of the single-electron density matrix follows a Markovian master equation in the presence of applied electric field and relevant scattering mechanisms. We show that it is important to allow for both position-dependent effective mass and for effective lowering of very thin barriers in order to obtain the band structure and the current-field characteristics comparable to experiment. Our calculations agree well with experiments over a wide range of temperatures. We predict a room-temperature threshold field of 62 . 5 kV/cm and a characteristic temperature for threshold-current-density variation of T 0 = 199 K . We also calculate electronic in-plane distributions, which are far from thermal, and show that subband electron temperatures can be hundreds to thousands of degrees higher than the heat sink. Finally, we emphasize the role of coherent tunneling current by looking at the size of coherences, the off-diagonal elements of the density matrix. At the design lasing field, efficient injection manifests itself in a large injector/upper lasing level coherence, which underscores the insufficiency of semiclassical techniques to address injection in QCLs.

  5. Spectrally resolved modal characteristics of leaky-wave-coupled quantum cascade phase-locked laser arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigler, Chris; Gibson, Ricky; Boyle, Colin; Kirch, Jeremy D.; Lindberg, Donald; Earles, Thomas; Botez, Dan; Mawst, Luke J.; Bedford, Robert

    2018-01-01

    The modal characteristics of nonresonant five-element phase-locked arrays of 4.7-μm emitting quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) have been studied using spectrally resolved near- and far-field measurements and correlated with results of device simulation. Devices are fabricated by a two-step metal-organic chemical vapor deposition process and operate predominantly in an in-phase array mode near threshold, although become multimode at higher drive levels. The wide spectral bandwidth of the QCL's core region is found to be a factor in promoting multispatial-mode operation at high drive levels above threshold. An optimized resonant-array design is identified to allow sole in-phase array-mode operation to high drive levels above threshold, and indicates that for phase-locked laser arrays full spatial coherence to high output powers does not require full temporal coherence.

  6. Room temperature continuous wave operation of quantum cascade laser at λ ~ 9.4 μm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Chuncai; Zhao, Yue; Zhang, Jinchuan; Zhai, Shenqiang; Zhuo, Ning; Liu, Junqi; Wang, Lijun; Liu, Shuman; Liu, Fengqi; Wang, Zhanguo

    2018-03-01

    Continuous wave (CW) operation of long wave infrared (LWIR) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) is achieved up to a temperature of 303 K. For room temperature CW operation, the wafer with 35 stages was processed into buried heterostructure lasers. For a 2-mm-long and 10-μm-wide laser with high-reflectivity (HR) coating on the rear facet, CW output power of 45 mW at 283 K and 9 mW at 303 K is obtained. The lasing wavelength is around 9.4 μm locating in the LWIR spectrum range. Project supported by the National Key Research And Development Program (No. 2016YFB0402303), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61435014, 61627822, 61574136, 61774146, 61674144, 61404131), the Key Projects of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nos. ZDRW-XH-2016-4, QYZDJ-SSW-JSC027), and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 4162060, 4172060).

  7. Extended and quasi-continuous tuning of quantum cascade lasers using superstructure gratings and integrated heaters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bidaux, Yves, E-mail: yves.bidaux@alpeslasers.ch [Alpes Lasers SA, 1-3 Passsage Max Meuron, CH-2001 Neuchâtel (Switzerland); Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH-Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Bismuto, Alfredo, E-mail: alfredo.bismuto@alpeslasers.ch; Tardy, Camille; Terazzi, Romain; Gresch, Tobias; Blaser, Stéphane; Muller, Antoine [Alpes Lasers SA, 1-3 Passsage Max Meuron, CH-2001 Neuchâtel (Switzerland); Faist, Jerome [Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH-Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2015-11-30

    In this work, we demonstrate broad electrical tuning of quantum cascade lasers at 9.25 μm, 8.5 μm, and 4.4 μm in continuous wave operation using Vernier-effect distributed Bragg reflectors based on superstructure gratings. Integrated micro-heaters allow to switch from one Vernier channel to the other, while predictable and mode-hop free tuning can be obtained in each channel modulating the laser current with a side mode suppression ratio as high as 30 dB. The resulting device behaves effectively as a switchable multicolour tunable source. Tuning up to 6.5% of the central wavelength is observed. To prove the importance of the developed devices for high resolution molecular spectroscopy, a N{sub 2}O absorption spectrum has been measured.

  8. An experimental study of noise in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers of different designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schilt, Stéphane; Tombez, Lionel; Tardy, Camille; Bismuto, Alfredo; Blaser, Stéphane; Maulini, Richard; Terazzi, Romain; Rochat, Michel; Südmeyer, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    We present an experimental study of noise in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) of different designs. By quantifying the high degree of correlation occurring between fluctuations of the optical frequency and voltage between the QCL terminals, we show that electrical noise is a powerful and simple mean to study noise in QCLs. Based on this outcome, we investigated the electrical noise in a large set of 22 QCLs emitting in the range of 7.6-8 μm and consisting of both ridge-waveguide and buried-heterostructure (BH) lasers with different geometrical designs and operation parameters. From a statistical data processing based on an analysis of variance, we assessed that ridge-waveguide lasers have a lower noise than BH lasers. Our physical interpretation is that additional current leakages or spare injection channels occur at the interface between the active region and the lateral insulator in the BH geometry, which induces some extra noise. In addition, Schottky-type contacts occurring at the interface between the n-doped regions and the lateral insulator, i.e., iron-doped InP, are also believed to be a potential source of additional noise in some BH lasers, as observed from the slight reduction in the integrated voltage noise observed at the laser threshold in several BH-QCLs.

  9. Quantum cascade laser-based analyzer for hydrogen sulfide detection at sub-parts-per-million levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikodem, Michal; Krzempek, Karol; Stachowiak, Dorota; Wysocki, Gerard

    2018-01-01

    Due to its high toxicity, monitoring of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentration is essential in many industrial sites (such as natural gas extraction sites, petroleum refineries, geothermal power plants, or waste water treatment facilities), which require sub-parts-per-million sensitivities. We report on a quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopic system for detection of H2S in the midinfrared at ˜7.2 μm. We present a sensor design utilizing Herriott multipass cell and a wavelength modulation spectroscopy to achieve a detection limit of 140 parts per billion for 1-s integration time.

  10. Pulsed CH3OH terahertz laser radiation pumped by 9P(36) CO2 lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiu Zhixian; Zuo Duluo; Miao Liang; Cheng Zuhai

    2011-01-01

    An efficient pulsed CH 3 OH terahertz (THz) laser pumped by a TEA CO 2 laser was investigated experimentally. A simple terahertz cavity and a TEA CO 2 laser for the optically pumped THz radiation were studied experimentally. To improve THz laser energy and photon conversion efficiency, two different TEA CO 2 lasers were developed to pump CH 3 OH. When CH 3 OH was pumped by the 9P(36) line with different powers of the CO 2 laser, the generation of terahertz radiation with energy as high as 0.307mJ and 23.75mJ were obtained, respectively. The corresponding photon conversion efficiencies were 0.29% and 2.4%. The photon conversion efficiency increases by a factor of about 8. Meanwhile, higher peak power of pump laser effectively improves the photon conversion efficiency. And the optimum THz laser pressure increases with narrower pulse width of pump laser because of increasing absorptive gases molecules of CH 3 OH with higher peak power of pump laser.

  11. Phase locking of a 3.4 THz third-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser using a room-temperature superlattice harmonic mixer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hayton, D. J.; Khudchencko, A.; Pavelyev, D. G.; Hovenier, J. N.; Baryshev, A.; Gao, J. R.; Kao, T. Y.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J. L.; Vaks, V.

    2013-01-01

    We report on the phase locking of a 3.4 THz third-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (QCL) using a room temperature GaAs/AlAs superlattice diode as both a frequency multiplier and an internal harmonic mixer. A signal-to-noise level of 60 dB is observed in the intermediate frequency

  12. Phase locking of a 3.4 THz third-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser using a room-temperature superlattice harmonic mixer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hayton, D.J.; Khudchenko, A.; Pavelyev, D.G.; Hovenier, J.N.; Baryshev, A.; Gao, J.R.; Kao, T.Y.; Hu, Q.; Reno, J.L.; Vaks, V.

    2013-01-01

    We report on the phase locking of a 3.4 THz third-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (QCL) using a room temperature GaAs/AlAs superlattice diode as both a frequency multiplier and an internal harmonic mixer. A signal-to-noise level of 60?dB is observed in the intermediate frequency

  13. High-Speed Operation of Interband Cascade Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soibel, Alexander; Hill, Cory J.; Keo, Sam A.; Wright, Malcom W.; Farr, William H.; Yang, Rui Q.; Liu, H. C.

    2010-01-01

    Optical sources operating in the atmospheric window of 3-5 microns are of particular interest for the development of free-space optical communication link. It is more advantageous to operate the free-space optical communication link in 3-5-microns atmospheric transmission window than at the telecom wavelength of 1.5 m due to lower optical scattering, scintillation, and background radiation. However, the realization of optical communications at the longer wavelength has encountered significant difficulties due to lack of adequate optical sources and detectors operating in the desirable wavelength regions. Interband Cascade (IC) lasers are novel semiconductor lasers that have a great potential for the realization of high-power, room-temperature optical sources in the 3-5-microns wavelength region, yet no experimental work, until this one, was done on high-speed direct modulation of IC lasers. Here, highspeed interband cascade laser, operating at wavelength 3.0 m, has been developed and the first direct measurement of the laser modulation bandwidth has been performed using a unique, highspeed quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP). The developed laser has modulation bandwidth exceeding 3 GHz. This constitutes a significant increase of the IC laser modulation bandwidth over currently existing devices. This result has demonstrated suitability of IC lasers as a mid-IR light source for multi-GHz free-space optical communications links

  14. Widely tunable Sampled Grating Distributed Bragg Reflector Quantum Cascade laser for gas spectroscopy applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diba, Abdou Salam

    Since the advent of semiconductor lasers, the development of tunable laser sources has been subject of many efforts in industry and academia arenas. This interest towards broadly tunable lasers is mainly due to the great promise they have in many applications ranging from telecommunication, to environmental science and homeland security, just to name a few. After the first demonstration of quantum cascade laser (QCL) in the early nineties, QCL has experienced a rapid development, so much so that QCLs are now the most reliable and efficient laser source in the Mid-IR range covering between 3 microm to 30 microm region of the electromagnetic spectrum. QCLs have almost all the desirable characteristics of a laser for spectroscopy applications such as narrow spectral linewidth ideal for high selectivity measurement, high power enabling high sensitivity sensing and more importantly they emit in the finger-print region of most of the trace gases and large molecules. The need for widely tunable QCLs is now more pressing than ever before. A single mode quantum cascade laser (QCL) such as a distributed feedback (DFB) QCL, is an ideal light source for gas sensing in the MIR wavelength range. Despite their performance and reliability, DFB QCLs are limited by their relatively narrow wavelength tuning range determined by the thermal rollover of the laser. An external cavity (EC) QCL, on the other hand, is a widely tunable laser source, and so far is the choice mid-infrared single frequency light sources for detecting multiple species/large molecules. However, EC QCLs can be complex, bulky and expensive. In the quest for finding alternative broadly wavelength tunable sources in the mid-infrared, many monolithic tunable QCLs are recently proposed and fabricated, including SG-DBR, DFB-Arrays, Slot-hole etc. and they are all of potentially of interest as a candidate for multi-gas sensing and monitoring applications, due to their large tuning range (>50 cm-1), and potentially low

  15. Laterally coupled distributed feedback type-I quantum well cascade diode lasers emitting near 3.22  μm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Tao; Hosoda, Takashi; Shterengas, Leon; Kipshidze, Gela; Stein, Aaron; Lu, Ming; Belenky, Gregory

    2017-11-01

    The laterally coupled distributed feedback (LC-DFB) GaSb-based type-I quantum well cascade diode lasers using the second- and the sixth-order gratings to stabilize the output spectrum near 3.22 μm were designed and fabricated. The laser heterostructure contained three cascades. The devices were manufactured using a single dry etching step defining the ∼5-μm-wide ridge with ∼5-μm-wide gratings sections adjacent to the ridge sides. The grating coupling coefficients were estimated to be about 1  cm -1 . The stability of the single-frequency operation was ensured by alignment of the DFB mode to the relatively wide gain peak. The 2-mm-long second-order LC-DFB lasers generated above 10 mW of continuous-wave (CW) output power at 20°C in epi-side-up configuration and demonstrated power conversion efficiency above 2%. The sixth-order LC-DFB lasers showed lower efficiency but still generated several milliwatts of CW output power. The devices demonstrated a CW current tuning range of about 3.5 nm at the temperature of 20°C.

  16. Cavity-enhanced quantum-cascade laser-based instrument for carbon monoxide measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provencal, Robert; Gupta, Manish; Owano, Thomas G; Baer, Douglas S; Ricci, Kenneth N; O'Keefe, Anthony; Podolske, James R

    2005-11-01

    An autonomous instrument based on off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy has been developed and successfully deployed for measurements of carbon monoxide in the troposphere and tropopause onboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft. The instrument (Carbon Monoxide Gas Analyzer) consists of a measurement cell comprised of two high-reflectivity mirrors, a continuous-wave quantum-cascade laser, gas sampling system, control and data-acquisition electronics, and data-analysis software. CO measurements were determined from high-resolution CO absorption line shapes obtained by tuning the laser wavelength over the R(7) transition of the fundamental vibration band near 2172.8 cm(-1). The instrument reports CO mixing ratio (mole fraction) at a 1-Hz rate based on measured absorption, gas temperature, and pressure using Beer's Law. During several flights in May-June 2004 and January 2005 that reached altitudes of 41,000 ft (12.5 km), the instrument recorded CO values with a precision of 0.2 ppbv (1-s averaging time) and an accuracy limited by the reference CO gas cylinder (uncertainty < 1.0%). Despite moderate turbulence and measurements of particulate-laden airflows, the instrument operated consistently and did not require any maintenance, mirror cleaning, or optical realignment during the flights.

  17. A Study of Residual Amplitude Modulation Suppression in Injection Locked Quantum Cascade Lasers Based on a Simplified Rate Equation Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webb, J F; Yong, K S C; Haldar, M K

    2015-01-01

    Using results that come out of a simplified rate equation model, the suppression of residual amplitude modulation in injection locked quantum cascade lasers with the master laser modulated by its drive current is investigated. Quasi-static and dynamic expressions for intensity modulation are used. The suppression peaks at a specific value of the injection ratio for a given detuning and linewidth enhancement factor. The intensity modulation suppression remains constant over a range of frequencies. The effects of injection ratio, detuning, coupling efficiency and linewidth enhancement factor are considered. (paper)

  18. Sensitive detection of acrolein and acrylonitrile with a pulsed quantum-cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manne, J.; Lim, A.; Tulip, J.; Jäger, W.

    2012-05-01

    We report on spectroscopic measurements of acrolein and acrylonitrile at atmospheric pressure using a pulsed distributed feedback quantum-cascade laser in combination with intra- and inter-pulse techniques and compare the results. The measurements were done in the frequency region around 957 cm-1. In the inter-pulse technique, the laser is excited with short current pulses (5-10 ns), and the pulse amplitude is modulated with an external current ramp resulting in a ˜2.3 cm-1 frequency scan. In the intra-pulse technique, a linear frequency down-chirp during the pulse is used for sweeping across the absorption line. Long current pulses up to 500 ns were used for these measurements which resulted in a spectral window of ˜2.2 cm-1 during the down-chirp. These comparatively wide spectral windows facilitated the measurements of the relatively broad absorption lines (˜1 cm-1) of acrolein and acrylonitrile. The use of a room-temperature mercury-cadmium-telluride detector resulted in a completely cryogen-free spectrometer. We demonstrate ppb level detection limits within a data acquisition time of ˜10 s with these methodologies.

  19. High sensitivity detection of NO2 employing cavity ringdown spectroscopy and an external cavity continuously tunable quantum cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Gottipaty N; Karpf, Andreas

    2010-09-10

    A trace gas sensor for the detection of nitrogen dioxide based on cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) and a continuous wave external cavity tunable quantum cascade laser operating at room temperature has been designed, and its features and performance characteristics are reported. By measuring the ringdown times of the cavity at different concentrations of NO(2), we report a sensitivity of 1.2 ppb for the detection of NO(2) in Zero Air.

  20. Physics of frequency-modulated comb generation in quantum-well diode lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Mark; Cundiff, Steven T.; Winful, Herbert G.

    2018-05-01

    We investigate the physical origin of frequency-modulated combs generated from single-section semiconductor diode lasers based on quantum wells, isolating the essential physics necessary for comb generation. We find that the two effects necessary for comb generation—spatial hole burning (leading to multimode operation) and four-wave mixing (leading to phase locking)—are indeed present in some quantum-well systems. The physics of comb generation in quantum wells is similar to that in quantum dot and quantum cascade lasers. We discuss the nature of the spectral phase and some important material parameters of these diode lasers.

  1. Enhancing the sensitivity of mid-IR quantum cascade laser-based cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy using RF current perturbation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manfred, Katherine M; Kirkbride, James M R; Ciaffoni, Luca; Peverall, Robert; Ritchie, Grant A D

    2014-12-15

    The sensitivity of mid-IR quantum cascade laser (QCL) off-axis cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (CEAS), often limited by cavity mode structure and diffraction losses, was enhanced by applying a broadband RF noise to the laser current. A pump-probe measurement demonstrated that the addition of bandwidth-limited white noise effectively increased the laser linewidth, thereby reducing mode structure associated with CEAS. The broadband noise source offers a more sensitive, more robust alternative to applying single-frequency noise to the laser. Analysis of CEAS measurements of a CO(2) absorption feature at 1890  cm(-1) averaged over 100 ms yielded a minimum detectable absorption of 5.5×10(-3)  Hz(-1/2) in the presence of broadband RF perturbation, nearly a tenfold improvement over the unperturbed regime. The short acquisition time makes this technique suitable for breath applications requiring breath-by-breath gas concentration information.

  2. THz laser based on quasi-periodic AlGaAs superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malyshev, K V [N.E. Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2013-06-30

    The use of quasi-periodic AlGaAs superlattices as an active element of a quantum cascade laser of terahertz range is proposed and theoretically investigated. A multi-colour emission, having from three to six peaks of optical gain, is found in Fibonacci, Thue-Morse, and figurate superlattices in electric fields of intensity F = 11 - 13 kV cm{sup -1} in the frequency range f = 2 - 4 THz. The peaks depend linearly on the electric field, retain the height of 20 cm{sup -1}, and strongly depend on the thickness of the AlGaAs-layers. (lasers)

  3. Wavefront measurement of single-mode quantum cascade laser beam for seed application in laser-produced plasma extreme ultraviolet system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowak, Krzysztof M; Ohta, Takeshi; Suganuma, Takashi; Yokotsuka, Toshio; Fujimoto, Junichi; Mizoguchi, Hakaru

    2012-12-01

    Quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a very attractive seed source for a multikilowatt pulsed CO2 lasers applied for driving extreme ultraviolet emitting plasmas. In this Letter, we investigate output beam properties of a QCL designed to address P18 and P20 lines of 10.6 micron band of CO2 molecule. In particular, output beam quality and stability are investigated for the first time. A well-defined linear polarization and a single-mode operation enabled a use of phase retrieval method for full description of QCL output beam. A direct, multi-image numerical phase retrieval technique was developed and successfully applied to the measured intensity patterns of a QCL beam. Very good agreement between the measured and reconstructed beam profiles was observed at distances ranging from QCL aperture to infinity, proving a good understanding of the beam propagation. The results also confirm a high spatial coherence and high stability of the beam parameters, the features expected from an excellent seed source.

  4. Absolute spectroscopy near 7.8 μm with a comb-locked extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamperti, Marco; AlSaif, Bidoor; Gatti, Davide; Fermann, Martin; Laporta, Paolo; Farooq, Aamir; Marangoni, Marco

    2018-01-22

    We report for the first time the frequency locking of an extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser (EC-QCL) to a near-infrared frequency comb. The locked laser source is exploited to carry out molecular spectroscopy around 7.8 μm with a line-centre frequency combined uncertainty of ~63 kHz. The strength of the approach, in view of an accurate retrieval of line centre frequencies over a spectral range as large as 100 cm -1 , is demonstrated on the P(40), P(18) and R(31) lines of the fundamental rovibrational band of N 2 O covering the centre and edges of the P and R branches. The spectrometer has the potential to be straightforwardly extended to other spectral ranges, till 12 μm, which is the current wavelength limit for commercial cw EC-QCLs.

  5. Absolute spectroscopy near 7.8 μm with a comb-locked extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser

    KAUST Repository

    Lamperti, Marco; Alsaif, Bidoor; Gatti, Davide; Fermann, Martin; Laporta, Paolo; Farooq, Aamir; Marangoni, Marco

    2018-01-01

    We report for the first time the frequency locking of an extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser (EC-QCL) to a near-infrared frequency comb. The locked laser source is exploited to carry out molecular spectroscopy around 7.8 μm with a line-centre frequency combined uncertainty of ~63 kHz. The strength of the approach, in view of an accurate retrieval of line centre frequencies over a spectral range as large as 100 cm-1, is demonstrated on the P(40), P(18) and R(31) lines of the fundamental rovibrational band of N2O covering the centre and edges of the P and R branches. The spectrometer has the potential to be straightforwardly extended to other spectral ranges, till 12 μm, which is the current wavelength limit for commercial cw EC-QCLs.

  6. Absolute spectroscopy near 7.8 μm with a comb-locked extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser

    KAUST Repository

    Lamperti, Marco

    2018-01-16

    We report for the first time the frequency locking of an extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser (EC-QCL) to a near-infrared frequency comb. The locked laser source is exploited to carry out molecular spectroscopy around 7.8 μm with a line-centre frequency combined uncertainty of ~63 kHz. The strength of the approach, in view of an accurate retrieval of line centre frequencies over a spectral range as large as 100 cm-1, is demonstrated on the P(40), P(18) and R(31) lines of the fundamental rovibrational band of N2O covering the centre and edges of the P and R branches. The spectrometer has the potential to be straightforwardly extended to other spectral ranges, till 12 μm, which is the current wavelength limit for commercial cw EC-QCLs.

  7. Measurement of the emission spectrum of a semiconductor laser using laser-feedback interferometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeley, James; Freeman, Joshua; Bertling, Karl; Lim, Yah L; Mohandas, Reshma A; Taimre, Thomas; Li, Lianhe H; Indjin, Dragan; Rakić, Aleksandar D; Linfield, Edmund H; Davies, A Giles; Dean, Paul

    2017-08-03

    The effects of optical feedback (OF) in lasers have been observed since the early days of laser development. While OF can result in undesirable and unpredictable operation in laser systems, it can also cause measurable perturbations to the operating parameters, which can be harnessed for metrological purposes. In this work we exploit this 'self-mixing' effect to infer the emission spectrum of a semiconductor laser using a laser-feedback interferometer, in which the terminal voltage of the laser is used to coherently sample the reinjected field. We demonstrate this approach using a terahertz frequency quantum cascade laser operating in both single- and multiple-longitudinal mode regimes, and are able to resolve spectral features not reliably resolved using traditional Fourier transform spectroscopy. We also investigate quantitatively the frequency perturbation of individual laser modes under OF, and find excellent agreement with predictions of the excess phase equation central to the theory of lasers under OF.

  8. Terahertz spectral signatures :measurement and detection LDRD project 86361 final report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wanke, Michael Clement; Brener, Igal; Lee, Mark

    2005-11-01

    LDRD Project 86361 provided support to upgrade the chemical and material spectral signature measurement and detection capabilities of Sandia National Laboratories using the terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes frequencies between 0.1 to 10 THz. Under this project, a THz time-domain spectrometer was completed. This instrument measures sample absorption spectra coherently, obtaining both magnitude and phase of the absorption signal, and has shown an operating signal-to-noise ratio of 10{sub 4}. Additionally, various gas cells and a reflectometer were added to an existing high-resolution THz Fourier transform spectrometer, which greatly extend the functionality of this spectrometer. Finally, preliminary efforts to design an integrated THz transceiver based on a quantum cascade laser were begun.

  9. Towards a continuous glucose monitoring system using tunable quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haase, Katharina; Müller, Niklas; Petrich, Wolfgang

    2018-02-01

    We present a reagent-free approach for long-term continuous glucose monitoring (cgm) of liquid samples using midinfrared absorption spectroscopy. This method could constitute an alternative to enzymatic glucose sensors in order to manage the widespread disease of Diabetes. In order to acquire spectra of the liquid specimen, we use a spectrally tunable external-cavity (EC-) quantum cascade laser (QCL) as radiation source in combination with a fiber-based in vitro sensor setup. Hereby we achieve a glucose sensitivity in pure glucose solutions of 3 mg/dL (RMSEP). Furthermore, the spectral tunability of the EC-QCL enables us to discriminate glucose from other molecules. We exemplify this by detecting glucose among other saccharides with an accuracy of 8 mg/dL (within other monosaccharides, RMSEVC) and 14 mg/dL (within other mono- and disaccharides, RMSECV). Moreover, we demonstrate a characterization of the significance of each wavenumber for an accurate prediction of glucose among other saccharides using an evolutionary algorithm. We show, that by picking 10 distinct wavenumbers we can achieve comparable accuracies to the use of a complete spectrum.

  10. EDITORIAL: Terahertz nanotechnology Terahertz nanotechnology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demming, Anna; Tonouchi, Masayoshi; Reno, John L.

    2013-05-01

    within the THz spectral region providing an additional benefit. His review describes the principle, characteristics, and applications of terahertz molecular imaging, where the use of nanoparticle probes allows dramatically enhanced sensitivity. Jiaguang Han and Weili Zhang and colleagues in China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and the US report exciting developments for optoelectronics [11]. They describe work on plasmon-induced transparency (PIT), an analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) where interference leads to a sharp transparency window that may be useful for nonlinear and slow-light devices, optical switching, pulse delay, and storage for optical information processing. While PIT has advantages over the cumbersome experimental systems required for EIT, it has so far been constrained to very narrow band operation. Now Zhang and colleagues present the simulation, implementation, and measurement of a broadband PIT metamaterial functioning across a frequency range greater than 0.40 THz in the terahertz regime. 'We can foresee a historic breakthrough for science and technology through terahertz research,' concluded Masayoshi Tonouchi in his review over five years ago as momentum in the field was mounting [12]. He added, 'It is also noteworthy that THz research is built on many areas of science and the coordination of a range of disciplines is giving birth to a new science.' With the inherently multidisciplinary nature of nanotechnology research it is not so strange to see the marriage of the two fields form such a fruitful partnership, as this special section highlights. References [1] Williams B S, Kumar S, Hu Q and Reno J L 2006 High-power terahertz quantum-cascade lasers Electron. Lett. 42 89-91 [2] Köhler R et al 2002 Terahertz semiconductor-heterostructure laser Nature 417 156-9 [3] Mittendorff M, Xu M, Dietz R J B, K¨unzel H, Sartorius B, Schneider H, Helm M and Winnerl S 2013 Large area photoconductive THz emitter for 1.55 μm excitation based on

  11. Passive mode-locking of 3.25μm GaSb-based type-I quantum-well cascade diode lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Tao; Shterengas, Leon; Kipshidze, Gela; Hosoda, Takashi; Wang, Meng; Belenky, Gregory

    2018-02-01

    Passively mode-locked type-I quantum well cascade diode lasers emitting in the methane absorption band near 3.25 μm were designed, fabricated and characterized. The deep etched 5.5-μm-wide single spatial mode ridge waveguide design utilizing split-contact architecture was implemented. The devices with absorber to gain section length ratios of 11% and 5.5% were studied. Lasers with the longer absorber section ( 300 μm) generated smooth bell-shape-like emission spectrum with about 30 lasing modes at full-width-at-half-maximum level. Devices with reverse biased absorber section demonstrated stable radio frequency beat with nearly perfect Lorentzian shape over four orders of magnitude of intensity. The estimated pulse-to-pulse timing jitter was about 110 fs/cycle. Laser generated average power of more than 1 mW in mode-locked regime.

  12. Quantum cascade laser photoacoustic detection of nitrous oxide released from soils for biofuel production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couto, F. M.; Sthel, M. S.; Castro, M. P. P.; da Silva, M. G.; Rocha, M. V.; Tavares, J. R.; Veiga, C. F. M.; Vargas, H.

    2014-12-01

    In order to investigate the generation of greenhouse gases in sugarcane ethanol production chain, a comparative study of N2O emission in artificially fertilized soils and soils free from fertilizers was carried out. Photoacoustic spectroscopy using quantum cascade laser with an emission ranging from 7.71 to 7.88 µm and differential photoacoustic cell were applied to detect nitrous oxide (N2O), an important greenhouse gas emitted from soils cultivated with sugar cane. Owing to calibrate the experimental setup, an initial N2O concentration was diluted with pure nitrogen and detection limit of 50 ppbv was achieved. The proposed methodology was selective and sensitive enough to detect N2O from no fertilized and artificially fertilized soils. The measured N2O concentration ranged from ppmv to ppbv.

  13. Interband cascade lasers with >40% continuous-wave wallplug efficiency at cryogenic temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canedy, C. L.; Kim, C. S.; Merritt, C. D.; Bewley, W. W.; Vurgaftman, I.; Meyer, J. R.; Kim, M.

    2015-01-01

    Broad-area 10-stage interband cascade lasers (ICLs) emitting at λ = 3.0–3.2 μm are shown to maintain continuous-wave (cw) wallplug efficiencies exceeding 40% at temperatures up to 125 K, despite having a design optimized for operation at ambient and above. The cw threshold current density at 80 K is only 11 A/cm 2 for a 2 mm cavity with anti-reflection/high-reflection coatings on the two facets. The external differential quantum efficiency for a 1-mm-long cavity with the same coatings is 70% per stage at 80 K, and still above 65% at 150 K. The results demonstrate that at cryogenic temperatures, where free carrier absorption losses are minimized, ICLs can convert electrical to optical energy nearly as efficiently as the best specially designed intersubband-based quantum cascade lasers

  14. Swept-frequency feedback interferometry using terahertz frequency QCLs: a method for imaging and materials analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakić, Aleksandar D; Taimre, Thomas; Bertling, Karl; Lim, Yah Leng; Dean, Paul; Indjin, Dragan; Ikonić, Zoran; Harrison, Paul; Valavanis, Alexander; Khanna, Suraj P; Lachab, Mohammad; Wilson, Stephen J; Linfield, Edmund H; Davies, A Giles

    2013-09-23

    The terahertz (THz) frequency quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a compact source of high-power radiation with a narrow intrinsic linewidth. As such, THz QCLs are extremely promising sources for applications including high-resolution spectroscopy, heterodyne detection, and coherent imaging. We exploit the remarkable phase-stability of THz QCLs to create a coherent swept-frequency delayed self-homodyning method for both imaging and materials analysis, using laser feedback interferometry. Using our scheme we obtain amplitude-like and phase-like images with minimal signal processing. We determine the physical relationship between the operating parameters of the laser under feedback and the complex refractive index of the target and demonstrate that this coherent detection method enables extraction of complex refractive indices with high accuracy. This establishes an ultimately compact and easy-to-implement THz imaging and materials analysis system, in which the local oscillator, mixer, and detector are all combined into a single laser.

  15. Dynamics of a broad-band quantum cascade laser: from chaos to coherent dynamics and mode-locking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Columbo, L. L.; Barbieri, S.; Sirtori, C.; Brambilla, M.

    2018-02-01

    The dynamics of a multimode Quantum Cascade Laser, is studied in a model based on effective semiconductor Maxwell-Bloch equations, encompassing key features for the radiationmedium interaction such as an asymmetric, frequency dependent, gain and refractive index as well as the phase-amplitude coupling provided by the Henry factor. By considering the role of the free spectral range and Henry factor, we develop criteria suitable to identify the conditions which allow to destabilize, close to threshold, the traveling wave emitted by the laser and lead to chaotic or regular multimode dynamics. In the latter case our simulations show that the field oscillations are associated to self-confined structures which travel along the laser cavity, bridging mode-locking and solitary wave propagation. In addition, we show how a RF modulation of the bias current leads to active mode-locking yielding high-contrast, picosecond pulses. Our results compare well with recent experiments on broad-band THz-QCLs and may help understanding the conditions for the generation of ultrashort pulses and comb operation in Mid-IR and THz spectral regions

  16. Detection of benzene and toluene gases using a midinfrared continuous-wave external cavity quantum cascade laser at atmospheric pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sydoryk, Ihor; Lim, Alan; Jäger, Wolfgang; Tulip, John; Parsons, Matthew T

    2010-02-20

    We demonstrate the application of a commercially available widely tunable continuous-wave external cavity quantum cascade laser as a spectroscopic source for the simultaneous detection of multiple gases. We measured broad absorption features of benzene and toluene between 1012 and 1063 cm(-1) (9.88 and 9.41 microm) at atmospheric pressure using an astigmatic Herriott multipass cell. Our results show experimental detection limits of 0.26 and 0.41 ppm for benzene and toluene, respectively, with a 100 m path length for these two gases.

  17. An off Axis Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectrometer and a Rapid Scan Spectrometer with a Room-Temperature External Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xunchen; Kang, Cheolhwa; Xu, Yunjie

    2009-06-01

    Quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a new type of mid-infrared tunable diode lasers with superior output power and mode quality. Recent developments, such as room temperature operation, wide frequency tunability, and narrow line width, make QCLs an ideal light source for high resolution spectroscopy. Two slit jet infrared spectrometers, namely an off-axis cavity enhanced absorption (CEA) spectrometer and a rapid scan spectrometer with an astigmatic multi-pass cell assembly, have been coupled with a newly purchased room temperature tunable mod-hop-free QCL with a frequency coverage from 1592 cm^{-1} to 1698 cm^{-1} and a scan rate of 0.1 cm^{-1}/ms. Our aim is to utilize these two sensitive spectrometers, that are equipped with a molecular jet expansion, to investigate the chiral molecules-(water)_n clusters. To demonstrate the resolution and sensitivity achieved, the rovibrational transitions of the static N_2O gas and the bending rovibrational transitions of the Ar-water complex, a test system, at 1634 cm^{-1} have been measured. D. Hofstetter and J. Faist in High performance quantum cascade lasers and their applications, Vol.89 Springer-Verlag Berlin & Heidelberg, 2003, pp. 61-98. Y. Xu, X. Liu, Z. Su, R. M. Kulkarni, W. S. Tam, C. Kang, I. Leonov and L. D'Agostino, Proc. Spie, 2009, 722208 (1-11). M. J. Weida and D. J. Nesbitt, J. Chem. Phys. 1997, 106, 3078-3089.

  18. Implementation of an integrating sphere for the enhancement of noninvasive glucose detection using quantum cascade laser spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werth, Alexandra; Liakat, Sabbir; Dong, Anqi; Woods, Callie M.; Gmachl, Claire F.

    2018-05-01

    An integrating sphere is used to enhance the collection of backscattered light in a noninvasive glucose sensor based on quantum cascade laser spectroscopy. The sphere enhances signal stability by roughly an order of magnitude, allowing us to use a thermoelectrically (TE) cooled detector while maintaining comparable glucose prediction accuracy levels. Using a smaller TE-cooled detector reduces form factor, creating a mobile sensor. Principal component analysis has predicted principal components of spectra taken from human subjects that closely match the absorption peaks of glucose. These principal components are used as regressors in a linear regression algorithm to make glucose concentration predictions, over 75% of which are clinically accurate.

  19. Efficient calculation of dissipative quantum transport properties in semiconductor nanostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greck, Peter

    2012-11-26

    We present a novel quantum transport method that follows the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) framework but side steps any self-consistent calculation of lesser self-energies by replacing them by a quasi-equilibrium expression. We termed this method the multi-scattering Buettiker-Probe (MSB) method. It generalizes the so-called Buettiker-Probe model but takes into account all relevant individual scattering mechanisms. It is orders of magnitude more efficient than a fully selfconsistent non-equilibrium Green's function calculation for realistic devices, yet accurately reproduces the results of the latter method as well as experimental data. This method is fairly easy to implement and opens the path towards realistic three-dimensional quantum transport calculations. In this work, we review the fundamentals of the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism for quantum transport calculations. Then, we introduce our novel MSB method after briefly reviewing the original Buettiker-Probe model. Finally, we compare the results of the MSB method to NEGF calculations as well as to experimental data. In particular, we calculate quantum transport properties of quantum cascade lasers in the terahertz (THz) and the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral domain. With a device optimization algorithm based upon the MSB method, we propose a novel THz quantum cascade laser design. It uses a two-well period with alternating barrier heights and complete carrier thermalization for the majority of the carriers within each period. We predict THz laser operation for temperatures up to 250 K implying a new temperature record.

  20. Cascade Pumping of 1.9–3.3 μm Type-I Quantum Well GaSb-Based Diode Lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shterengas, Leon; Kipshidze, Gela; Hosoda, Takashi; Liang, Rui; Feng, Tao

    2017-01-01

    Cascade pumping of type-I quantum well gain sections was utilized to increase output power and efficiency of GaSb-based diode lasers operating in spectral region from 1.9 to 3.3 μm. Coated devices with ~100-μm-wide aperture and 3-mm-long cavity demonstrated continuous wave (CW) output power of 1.96 W near 2 μm, 980 mW near 3 μm, 500 mW near 3.18 μm, and 360 mW near 3.25 μm at room temperature. The corresponding narrow ridge lasers with nearly diffraction limited beams operate in CW regime with tens of mW of output power up to 60 °C. Two step shallow/deep narrow/wide ridge waveguide devices showed lower threshold currents and higher slope efficiencies compared to single step narrow ridge lasers. Laterally coupled DFB lasers mounted epi-up generated above 10 mW of tunable single frequency CW power at 20 °C near 3.22 μm.

  1. Electrically-driven pure amplitude and frequency modulation in a quantum cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shehzad, Atif; Brochard, Pierre; Matthey, Renaud; Blaser, Stéphane; Gresch, Tobias; Maulini, Richard; Muller, Antoine; Südmeyer, Thomas; Schilt, Stéphane

    2018-04-30

    We present pure amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) achieved electrically in a quantum cascade laser (QCL) equipped with an integrated resistive heater (IH). The QCL output power scales linearly with the current applied to the active region (AR), but decreases with the IH current, while the emission frequency decreases with both currents. Hence, a simultaneous modulation applied to the current of the AR and IH sections with a proper relative amplitude and phase can suppress the AM, resulting in a pure FM, or vice-versa. The adequate modulation parameters depend on the applied modulation frequency. Therefore, they were first determined from the individual measurements of the AM and FM transfer functions obtained for a modulation applied to the current of the AR or IH section, respectively. By optimizing the parameters of the two modulations, we demonstrate a reduction of the spurious AM or FM by almost two orders of magnitude at characteristic frequencies of 1 and 10 kHz compared to the use of the AR current only.

  2. Applications of a Mid-IR Quantum Cascade Laser in Gas Sensing Research

    KAUST Repository

    Sajid, Muhammad Bilal

    2015-05-01

    Laser absorption based sensors are extensively used in a variety of gas sensing areas such as combustion, atmospheric research, human breath analysis, and high resolution infrared spectroscopy. Quantum cascade lasers have recently emerged as high resolution, high power laser sources operating in mid infrared region and can have wide tunability range. These devices provide an opportunity to access stronger fundamental and combination vibrational bands located in mid infrared region than previously accessible weaker overtone vibrational bands located in near infrared region. Spectroscopic region near 8 µm contains strong vibrational bands of methane, acetylene, hydrogen peroxide, water vapor and nitrous oxide. These molecules have important applications in a wide range of applications. This thesis presents studies pertaining to spectroscopy and combustion applications. Advancements in combustion research are imperative to achieve lower emissions and higher efficiency in practical combustion devices such as gas turbines and engines. Accurate chemical kinetic models are critical to achieve predictive models which contain several thousand reactions and hundreds of species. These models need highly reliable experimental data for validation and improvements. Shock tubes are ideal devices to obtain such information. A shock tube is a homogenous, nearly constant volume, constant pressure, adiabatic and 0-D reactor. In combination with laser absorption sensors, shock tubes can be used to measure reaction rates and species time histories of several intermediates and products formed during pyrolysis and oxidation of fuels. This work describes measurement of the decomposition rate of hydrogen peroxide which is an important intermediate species controlling reactivity of combustion system in the intermediate temperature range. Spectroscopic parameters (linestrengths, broadening coefficients and temperature dependent coefficients) are determined for various transitions of

  3. Analysis of a wavelength selectable cascaded DFB laser based on the transfer matrix method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Hongyun; Chen Liang; Shen Pei; Sun Botao; Wang Renqing; Xiao Ying; You Yunxia; Zhang Wanrong

    2010-01-01

    A novel cascaded DFB laser, which consists of two serial gratings to provide selectable wavelengths, is presented and analyzed by the transfer matrix method. In this method, efficient facet reflectivity is derived from the transfer matrix built for each serial section and is then used to simulate the performance of the novel cascaded DFB laser through self-consistently solving the gain equation, the coupled wave equation and the current continuity equations. The simulations prove the feasibility of this kind of wavelength selectable laser and a corresponding designed device with two selectable wavelengths of 1.51 μm and 1.53 μm is realized by experiments on InP-based multiple quantum well structure. (semiconductor devices)

  4. Photogalvanic effects induced by terahertz-lasers in semiconductor quantum films and applications; Terahertzlaserinduzierte photogalvanische Effekte in Halbleiter-Quantenfilmen und deren Anwendung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weber, Wolfgang

    2008-06-16

    In this work photogalvanic effects where investigated in GaN/AlGaN heterostructures for the first time. For this purpose one of the strongest pulsed terahertz-lasers in the world was built and a computer controlled measurement system was developed. Additionally in this work an application of photogalvanic effects is presented, a pure-electric detection system, which allows to determine the polarisation state of terahertz radiation in sub-nanosecond time resolution. (orig.)

  5. Watt-level widely tunable single-mode emission by injection-locking of a multimode Fabry-Perot quantum cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chevalier, Paul; Piccardo, Marco; Anand, Sajant; Mejia, Enrique A.; Wang, Yongrui; Mansuripur, Tobias S.; Xie, Feng; Lascola, Kevin; Belyanin, Alexey; Capasso, Federico

    2018-02-01

    Free-running Fabry-Perot lasers normally operate in a single-mode regime until the pumping current is increased beyond the single-mode instability threshold, above which they evolve into a multimode state. As a result of this instability, the single-mode operation of these lasers is typically constrained to few percents of their output power range, this being an undesired limitation in spectroscopy applications. In order to expand the span of single-mode operation, we use an optical injection seed generated by an external-cavity single-mode laser source to force the Fabry-Perot quantum cascade laser into a single-mode state in the high current range, where it would otherwise operate in a multimode regime. Utilizing this approach, we achieve single-mode emission at room temperature with a tuning range of 36 cm-1 and stable continuous-wave output power exceeding 1 W at 4.5 μm. Far-field measurements show that a single transverse mode is emitted up to the highest optical power, indicating that the beam properties of the seeded Fabry-Perot laser remain unchanged as compared to free-running operation.

  6. Quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy with the amplitude-to-time conversion technique for atmospheric-pressure plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yumii, Takayoshi; Kimura, Noriaki; Hamaguchi, Satoshi

    2013-01-01

    The NO 2 concentration, i.e., density, in a small plasma of a nitrogen oxide (NOx) treatment reactor has been measured by highly sensitive laser absorption spectroscopy. The absorption spectroscopy uses a single path of a quantum cascade laser beam passing through a plasma whose dimension is about 1 cm. The high sensitivity of spectroscopy is achieved by the amplitude-to-time conversion technique. Although the plasma reactor is designed to convert NO in the input gas to NO 2 , it has been demonstrated by this highly sensitive absorption spectroscopy that NO 2 in a simulated exhaust gas that enters the reactor is decomposed by the plasma first and then NO 2 is formed again, possibly more than it was decomposed, through a series of gas-phase reactions by the time the gas exits the reactor. The observation is consistent with that of an earlier study on NO decomposition by the same type of a plasma reactor [T. Yumii et al., J. Phys. D 46, 135202 (2013)], in which a high concentration of NO 2 was observed at the exit of the reactor.

  7. Absolute spectroscopy near 7.8 {\\mu} m with a comb-locked extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser

    KAUST Repository

    Lamperti, Marco

    2017-07-31

    We report the first experimental demonstration of frequency-locking of an extended-cavity quantum-cascade-laser (EC-QCL) to a near-infrared frequency comb. The locking scheme is applied to carry out absolute spectroscopy of N2O lines near 7.87 {\\\\mu}m with an accuracy of ~60 kHz. Thanks to a single mode operation over more than 100 cm^{-1}, the comb-locked EC-QCL shows great potential for the accurate retrieval of line center frequencies in a spectral region that is currently outside the reach of broadly tunable cw sources, either based on difference frequency generation or optical parametric oscillation. The approach described here can be straightforwardly extended up to 12 {\\\\mu}m, which is the current wavelength limit for commercial cw EC-QCLs.

  8. Metasurface external cavity laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Luyao, E-mail: luyaoxu.ee@ucla.edu; Curwen, Christopher A.; Williams, Benjamin S. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); Hon, Philip W. C.; Itoh, Tatsuo [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States); Chen, Qi-Sheng [Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California 90278 (United States)

    2015-11-30

    A vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting-laser is demonstrated in the terahertz range, which is based upon an amplifying metasurface reflector composed of a sub-wavelength array of antenna-coupled quantum-cascade sub-cavities. Lasing is possible when the metasurface reflector is placed into a low-loss external cavity such that the external cavity—not the sub-cavities—determines the beam properties. A near-Gaussian beam of 4.3° × 5.1° divergence is observed and an output power level >5 mW is achieved. The polarized response of the metasurface allows the use of a wire-grid polarizer as an output coupler that is continuously tunable.

  9. Monopolar photoelectromagnetic effect in Pb1−xSnxTe(In) under terahertz laser radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernichkin, V I; Ryabova, L I; Khokhlov, D R; Nicorici, A V

    2012-01-01

    We report on the observation of a new effect—the appearance of a galvanic signal in the narrow-gap semiconductor Pb 1-x Sn x Te(In) in the magnetic field under the action of strong 100 ns-long terahertz laser pulses. The signal changes its sign and kinetics as the temperature increases from 4.2 K to 25 K. This semiconductor possesses inversion symmetry of the crystalline lattice making impossible the observation of the magnetophotogalvanic effect which looks similar in its experimental manifestation. On the other hand, the laser quantum energy is much less than the bandgap of the semiconductor making the effect considerably different from the conventional Kikoin–Noskov photoelectromagnetic effect. Possible mechanisms responsible for the appearance of the effect are discussed. (paper)

  10. Coagulation and ablation of biological soft tissue by quantum cascade laser with peak wavelength of 5.7 μm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keisuke Hashimura

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Molecules such as water, proteins and lipids that are contained in biological tissue absorb mid-infrared (MIR light, which allows such light to be used in laser surgical treatment. Esters, amides and water exhibit strong absorption bands in the 5–7 μm wavelength range, but at present there are no lasers in clinical use that can emit in this range. Therefore, the present study focused on the quantum cascade laser (QCL, which is a new type of semiconductor laser that can emit at MIR wavelengths and has recently achieved high output power. A high-power QCL with a peak wavelength of 5.7 μm was evaluated for use as a laser scalpel for ablating biological soft tissue. The interaction of the laser beam with chicken breast tissue was compared to a conventional CO2 laser, based on surface and cross-sectional images. The QCL was found to have sufficient power to ablate soft tissue, and its coagulation, carbonization and ablation effects were similar to those for the CO2 laser. The QCL also induced comparable photothermal effects because it acted as a pseudo-continuous wave laser due to its low peak power. A QCL can therefore be used as an effective laser scalpel, and also offers the possibility of less invasive treatment by targeting specific absorption bands in the MIR region.

  11. A widely tunable 10-μm quantum cascade laser phase-locked to a state-of-the-art mid-infrared reference for precision molecular spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sow, P. L. T.; Mejri, S.; Tokunaga, S. K.; Lopez, O.; Argence, B.; Chardonnet, C.; Darquié, B., E-mail: benoit.darquie@univ-paris13.fr [CNRS, UMR 7538, LPL, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); Goncharov, A.; Amy-Klein, A.; Daussy, C. [Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); CNRS, UMR 7538, LPL, 93430 Villetaneuse (France)

    2014-06-30

    We report the coherent phase-locking of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) at 10-μm to the secondary frequency standard of this spectral region, a CO{sub 2} laser stabilized on a saturated absorption line of OsO{sub 4}. The stability and accuracy of the standard are transferred to the QCL resulting in a line width of the order of 10 Hz, and leading to the narrowest QCL to date. The locked QCL is then used to perform absorption spectroscopy spanning 6 GHz of NH{sub 3} and methyltrioxorhenium, two species of interest for applications in precision measurements.

  12. Propene concentration sensing for combustion gases using quantum-cascade laser absorption near 11 μm

    KAUST Repository

    Chrystie, Robin

    2015-05-29

    We report on a strategy to measure, in situ, the concentration of propene (C3H6) in combustion gases using laser absorption spectroscopy. Pyrolysis of n-butane was conducted in a shock tube, in which the resultant gases were probed using an extended cavity quantum-cascade laser. A differential absorption approach using online and offline wavelengths near λ = 10.9 μm enabled discrimination of propene, cancelling the effects of spectral interference from the simultaneous presence of intermediate hydrocarbon species during combustion. Such interference-free measurements were facilitated by exploiting the =C–H bending mode characteristic to alkenes (olefins). It was confirmed, for intermediate species present during pyrolysis of n-butane, that their absorption cross sections were the same magnitude for both online and offline wavelengths. Hence, this allowed time profiles of propene concentration to be measured during pyrolysis of n-butane in a shock tube. Time profiles of propene subsequent to a passing shock wave exhibit trends similar to that predicted by the well-established JetSurF 1.0 chemical kinetic mechanism, albeit lower by a factor of two. Such a laser diagnostic is a first step to experimentally determining propene in real time with sufficient time resolution, thus aiding the refinement and development of chemical kinetic models for combustion. © 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

  13. Frequency locking of an extended-cavity quantum cascade laser to a frequency comb for precision mid infrared spectroscopy

    KAUST Repository

    Alsaif, Bidoor; Lamperti, Marco; Gatti, Davide; Laporta, Paolo; Fermann, Martin E.; Farooq, Aamir; Marangoni, Marco

    2017-01-01

    Extended-cavity quantum cascade lasers (EC-QCLs) enable mode-hope-free frequency sweeps in the mid-infrared region over ranges in excess of 100 cm−1, at speeds up to 1 THz/s and with a 100-mW optical power level. This makes them ideally suited for broadband absorption spectroscopy and for the simultaneous detection of multiple gases. On the other hand, their use for precision spectroscopy has been hampered so far by a large amount of frequency noise, resulting in an optical linewidth of about 30 MHz over 50 ms [1]. This is one of the reasons why neither their frequency nor their phase have been so far locked to a frequency comb. Their use in combination with frequency combs has been performed in an open loop regime only [2], which has the merit of preserving the inherently fast modulation speed of these lasers, yet not to afford high spectral resolution and accuracy.

  14. Frequency locking of an extended-cavity quantum cascade laser to a frequency comb for precision mid infrared spectroscopy

    KAUST Repository

    Alsaif, Bidoor

    2017-11-02

    Extended-cavity quantum cascade lasers (EC-QCLs) enable mode-hope-free frequency sweeps in the mid-infrared region over ranges in excess of 100 cm−1, at speeds up to 1 THz/s and with a 100-mW optical power level. This makes them ideally suited for broadband absorption spectroscopy and for the simultaneous detection of multiple gases. On the other hand, their use for precision spectroscopy has been hampered so far by a large amount of frequency noise, resulting in an optical linewidth of about 30 MHz over 50 ms [1]. This is one of the reasons why neither their frequency nor their phase have been so far locked to a frequency comb. Their use in combination with frequency combs has been performed in an open loop regime only [2], which has the merit of preserving the inherently fast modulation speed of these lasers, yet not to afford high spectral resolution and accuracy.

  15. Design, fabrication, and optimization of quantum cascade laser cavities and spectroscopy of the intersubband gain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dirisu, Afusat Olayinka

    Quantum Cascade (QC) lasers are intersubband light sources operating in the wavelength range of ˜ 3 to 300 mum and are used in applications such as sensing (environmental, biological, and hazardous chemical), infrared countermeasures, and free-space infrared communications. The mid-infrared range (i.e. lambda ˜ 3-30 mum) is of particular importance in sensing because of the strong interaction of laser radiation with various chemical species, while in free space communications the atmospheric windows of 3-5 mum and 8-12 mum are highly desirable for low loss transmission. Some of the requirements of these applications include, (1) high output power for improved sensitivity; (2) high operating temperatures for compact and cost-effective systems; (3) wide tunability; (4) single mode operation for high selectivity. In the past, available mid-infrared sources, such as the lead-salt and solid-state lasers, were bulky, expensive, or emit low output power. In recent years, QC lasers have been explored as cost-effective and compact sources because of their potential to satisfy and exceed all the above requirements. Also, the ultrafast carrier lifetimes of intersubband transitions in QC lasers are promising for high bandwidth free-space infrared communication. This thesis was focused on the improvement of QC lasers through the design and optimization of the laser cavity and characterization of the laser gain medium. The optimization of the laser cavity included, (1) the design and fabrication of high reflection Bragg gratings and subwavelength antireflection gratings, by focused ion beam milling, to achieve tunable, single mode and high power QC lasers, and (2) modeling of slab-coupled optical waveguide QC lasers for high brightness output beams. The characterization of the QC laser gain medium was carried out using the single-pass transmission experiment, a sensitive measurement technique, for probing the intersubband transitions and the electron distribution of QC lasers

  16. Applied optics. Gain modulation by graphene plasmons in aperiodic lattice lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, S; Marshall, O P; Folland, T G; Kim, Y-J; Grigorenko, A N; Novoselov, K S

    2016-01-15

    Two-dimensional graphene plasmon-based technologies will enable the development of fast, compact, and inexpensive active photonic elements because, unlike plasmons in other materials, graphene plasmons can be tuned via the doping level. Such tuning is harnessed within terahertz quantum cascade lasers to reversibly alter their emission. This is achieved in two key steps: first, by exciting graphene plasmons within an aperiodic lattice laser and, second, by engineering photon lifetimes, linking graphene's Fermi energy with the round-trip gain. Modal gain and hence laser spectra are highly sensitive to the doping of an integrated, electrically controllable, graphene layer. Demonstration of the integrated graphene plasmon laser principle lays the foundation for a new generation of active, programmable plasmonic metamaterials with major implications across photonics, material sciences, and nanotechnology. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  17. Standoff detection of turbulent chemical mixture plumes using a swept external cavity quantum cascade laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phillips, Mark C. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Brumfield, Brian E. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

    2017-08-21

    We demonstrate standoff detection of turbulent mixed-chemical plumes using a broadly-tunable external cavity quantum cascade laser (ECQCL). The ECQCL was directed through plumes of mixed methanol/ethanol vapor to a partially-reflective surface located 10 m away. The reflected power was measured as the ECQCL was swept over its tuning range of 930-1065 cm-1 (9.4-10.8 µm) at rates up to 200 Hz. Analysis of the transmission spectra though the plume was performed to determine chemical concentrations with time resolution of 0.005 s. Comparison of multiple spectral sweep rates of 2 Hz, 20 Hz, and 200 Hz shows that higher sweep rates reduce effects of atmospheric and source turbulence, resulting in lower detection noise and more accurate measurement of the rapidly-changing chemical concentrations. Detection sensitivities of 0.13 ppm*m for MeOH and 1.2 ppm*m for EtOH are demonstrated for a 200 Hz spectral sweep rate, normalized to 1 s detection time.

  18. Optimizing the active region of interband cascade lasers for passive mode-locking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Ryczko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The work proposes possible designs of active regions for a mode-locked interband cascade laser emitting in the mid infrared. For that purpose we investigated the electronic structure properties of respectively modified GaSb-based type II W-shaped quantum wells, including the effect of external bias in order to simultaneously fulfil the requirements for both the absorber as well as the gain sections of a device. The results show that introducing multiple InAs layers in type II InAs/GaInSb quantum wells or introducing a tensely-strained GaAsSb layer into “W-shaped” type II QWs offers significant difference in optical transitions’ oscillator strengths (characteristic lifetimes of the two oppositely polarized parts of such a laser, being promising for utilization in mode-locked devices.

  19. Resonant tunneling diodes based on ZnO for quantum cascade structures (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinkov, Borislav; Schwarz, Benedikt; Harrer, Andreas; Ristanic, Daniela; Schrenk, Werner; Hugues, Maxime; Chauveau, Jean-Michel; Strasser, Gottfried

    2017-02-01

    The terahertz (THz) spectral range (lambda 30µm - 300µm) is also known as the "THz-gap" because of the lack of compact semiconductor devices. Various real-world applications would strongly benefit from such sources like trace-gas spectroscopy or security-screening. A crucial step is the operation of THz-emitting lasers at room temperature. But this seems out of reach with current devices, of which GaAs-based quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) seem to be the most promising ones. They are limited by the parasitic, non-optical LO-phonon transitions (36meV in GaAs), being on the same order as the thermal energy at room temperature (kT = 26meV). This can be solved by using larger LO-phonon materials like ZnO (E_LO = 72meV). But to master the fabrication of ZnO-based QC structures, a high quality epitaxial growth is crucial followed by a well-controlled fabrication process including ZnO/ZnMgO etching. We use devices grown on m-plane ZnO-substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. They are patterned by reactive ion etching in a CH4-based chemistry (CH4:H2:Ar/30:3:3 sccm) into 50μm to 150μm square mesas. Resonant tunneling diode structures are investigated in this geometry and are presented including different barrier- and well-configurations. We extract contact resistances of 8e-5 Omega cm^2 for un-annealed Ti/Au contacts and an electron mobility of above 130cm^2/Vs, both in good agreement with literature. Proving that resonant electron tunneling can be achieved in ZnO is one of the crucial building blocks of a QCL. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 665107.

  20. Stable single-mode distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers at λ ∼ 4.25 μm with low power consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Zhiwei; Wang, Lijun; Zhang, Jinchuan; Liu, Fengqi; Zhuo, Ning; Zhai, Shenqiang; Liu, Junqi; Wang, Zhanguo

    2016-10-01

    Short-wavelength (4.25 μm) distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser operating in continuous wave (cw) mode at room temperature with low power consumption was presented. Stable single-mode operation with a side-mode-suppression-ratio above 25 dB was maintained for the whole measured current and temperature range by enlarging gain difference and strong grating coupling. Because of the strong coupling, very low threshold current and power consumption were achieved. For a device of 9-μm-wide and 2-mm-long, the cw threshold current and power consumption at 293 K were as low as 126 mA and 1.45 W, respectively. All results above were from the device without using buried heterostructure geometry.

  1. Terahertz luminescence of GaAs based on heterostructures with quantum wells at optical excitation of donors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bekin, N.A.; Zhukavin, R.Kh.; Kovalevskij, K.A.; Pavlov, S.G.; Shastin, V.N.; Zvonkov, B.N.; Uskova, E.A.

    2005-01-01

    Terahertz spontaneous emission (∼ 3-3.5 THz) based on 2D-continuum-shallow donor (Si) states transitions has been investigated from both GaAs/InGaAs:Si and GaAs/InGaAsP:Si selectively doped heterostructures under CO 2 laser excitation at the liquid helium temperature. It is shown that the population inversion and the amplification with the coefficient up to 100-300 cm -1 per active layer can be realized for the planar doping level N D ≅ 10 11 cm -2 in multilayer structures with 50 periods of quantum wells under the pump flux density 10 23 quant/cm 2 s [ru

  2. Quantum theory of terahertz conductivity of semiconductor nanostructures

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ostatnický, T.; Pushkarev, Vladimir; Němec, Hynek; Kužel, Petr

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 97, č. 8 (2018), s. 1-8, č. článku 085426. ISSN 2469-9950 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-03662S EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 607521 - NOTEDEV Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : nanostructures * nanoparticles * terahertz conductivity * quantum theory * linear response Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 3.836, year: 2016

  3. Realization of a Tunable Dissipation Scale in a Turbulent Cascade using a Quantum Gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navon, Nir; Eigen, Christoph; Zhang, Jinyi; Lopes, Raphael; Smith, Robert; Hadzibabic, Zoran

    2017-04-01

    Many turbulent flows form so-called cascades, where excitations injected at large length scales, are transported to gradually smaller scales until they reach a dissipation scale. We initiate a turbulent cascade in a dilute Bose fluid by pumping energy at the container scale of an optical box trap using an oscillating magnetic force. In contrast to classical fluids where the dissipation scale is set by the viscosity of the fluid, the turbulent cascade of our quantum gas finishes when the particles kinetic energy exceeds the laser-trap depth. This mechanism thus allows us to effectively tune the dissipation scale where particles (and energy) are lost, and measure the particle flux in the cascade at the dissipation scale. We observe a unit power-law decay of the particle-dissipation rate with trap depth, which confirms the surprising prediction that in a wave-turbulent direct energy cascade, the particle flux vanishes in the ideal limit where the dissipation length scale tends to zero.

  4. A calibration-free ammonia breath sensor using a quantum cascade laser with WMS 2f/1f

    KAUST Repository

    Owen, Kyle

    2013-12-22

    The amount of ammonia in exhaled breath has been linked to a variety of adverse medical conditions, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). The development of accurate, reliable breath sensors has the potential to improve medical care. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy with second harmonic normalized by the first harmonic (WMS 2f/1f) is a sensitive technique used in the development of calibration-free sensors. An ammonia gas sensor is designed and developed that uses a quantum cascade laser operating near 1,103.44 cm -1 and a multi-pass cell with an effective path length of 76.45 m. The sensor has a 7 ppbv detection limit and 5 % total uncertainty for breath measurements. The sensor was successfully used to detect ammonia in exhaled breath and compare healthy patients to patients diagnosed with CKD. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  5. A Road Towards High Temperature Superconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    period a very successful effort to show what superconductivity can do to the public at large. Our videos on Quantum Levitation and Quantum locking...large. Our videos on Quantum Levitation and Quantum locking have been seen by more than 9 million people the world over, possibly the largest number...superconductivity, Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL), THz QCL non- cryogenic, Terahertz (THz) Source 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

  6. Generation of high-field terahertz pulses in an HMQ-TMS organic crystal pumped by an ytterbium laser at 1030 nm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rovere, Andrea; Jeong, Young-Gyun; Piccoli, Riccardo; Lee, Seung-Heon; Lee, Seung-Chul; Kwon, O-Pil; Jazbinsek, Mojca; Morandotti, Roberto; Razzari, Luca

    2018-02-05

    We present the generation of high-peak-electric-field terahertz pulses via collinear optical rectification in a 2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)-1-methilquinolinium-2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate (HMQ-TMS) organic crystal. The crystal is pumped by an amplified ytterbium laser system, emitting 170-fs-long pulses centered at 1030 nm. A terahertz peak electric field greater than 200 kV/cm is obtained for 420 µJ of optical pump energy, with an energy conversion efficiency of 0.26% - about two orders of magnitude higher than in common inorganic crystals collinearly pumped by amplified femtosecond lasers. An open-aperture Z-scan measurement performed on an n-doped InGaAs thin film using such terahertz source shows a nonlinear increase in the terahertz transmission of about 2.2 times. Our findings demonstrate the potential of this terahertz generation scheme, based on ytterbium laser technology, as a simple and efficient alternative to the existing intense table-top terahertz sources. In particular, we show that it can be readily used to explore nonlinear effects at terahertz frequencies.

  7. Graphene based plasmonic terahertz amplitude modulator operating above 100 MHz

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jessop, D. S., E-mail: dsj23@cam.ac.uk, E-mail: rd448@cam.ac.uk; Kindness, S. J.; Ren, Y.; Beere, H. E.; Ritchie, D. A.; Degl' Innocenti, R., E-mail: dsj23@cam.ac.uk, E-mail: rd448@cam.ac.uk [Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Xiao, L.; Braeuninger-Weimer, P.; Hofmann, S. [Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, 9 J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA (United Kingdom); Lin, H.; Zeitler, J. A. [Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3RA (United Kingdom); Ren, C. X. [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom)

    2016-04-25

    The terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum holds great potential in many fields of study, from spectroscopy to biomedical imaging, remote gas sensing, and high speed communication. To fully exploit this potential, fast optoelectronic devices such as amplitude and phase modulators must be developed. In this work, we present a room temperature external THz amplitude modulator based on plasmonic bow-tie antenna arrays with graphene. By applying a modulating bias to a back gate electrode, the conductivity of graphene is changed, which modifies the reflection characteristics of the incoming THz radiation. The broadband response of the device was characterized by using THz time-domain spectroscopy, and the modulation characteristics such as the modulation depth and cut-off frequency were investigated with a 2.0 THz single frequency emission quantum cascade laser. An optical modulation cut-off frequency of 105 ± 15 MHz is reported. The results agree well with a lumped element circuit model developed to describe the device.

  8. Graphene based plasmonic terahertz amplitude modulator operating above 100 MHz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jessop, D. S.; Kindness, S. J.; Ren, Y.; Beere, H. E.; Ritchie, D. A.; Degl'Innocenti, R.; Xiao, L.; Braeuninger-Weimer, P.; Hofmann, S.; Lin, H.; Zeitler, J. A.; Ren, C. X.

    2016-01-01

    The terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum holds great potential in many fields of study, from spectroscopy to biomedical imaging, remote gas sensing, and high speed communication. To fully exploit this potential, fast optoelectronic devices such as amplitude and phase modulators must be developed. In this work, we present a room temperature external THz amplitude modulator based on plasmonic bow-tie antenna arrays with graphene. By applying a modulating bias to a back gate electrode, the conductivity of graphene is changed, which modifies the reflection characteristics of the incoming THz radiation. The broadband response of the device was characterized by using THz time-domain spectroscopy, and the modulation characteristics such as the modulation depth and cut-off frequency were investigated with a 2.0 THz single frequency emission quantum cascade laser. An optical modulation cut-off frequency of 105 ± 15 MHz is reported. The results agree well with a lumped element circuit model developed to describe the device.

  9. Real time ammonia detection in exhaled human breath using a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser based sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewicki, Rafał; Kosterev, Anatoliy A.; Thomazy, David M.; Risby, Terence H.; Solga, Steven; Schwartz, Timothy B.; Tittel, Frank K.

    2011-01-01

    A continuous wave, thermoelectrically cooled, distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB-QCL) based sensor platform for the quantitative detection of ammonia (NH3) concentrations present in exhaled human breath is reported. The NH3 concentration measurements are performed with a 2f wavelength modulation quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) technique, which is very well suited for real time breath analysis, due to the fast gas exchange inside a compact QEPAS gas cell. An air-cooled DFB-QCL was designed to target the interference-free NH3 absorption line located at 967.35 cm-1 (λ~10.34 μm). The laser is operated at 17.5 °C, emitting ~ 24 mW of optical power at the selected wavelength. A 1σ minimum detectable concentration of ammonia for the line-locked NH3 sensor is ~ 6 ppb with 1 sec time resolution. The NH3 sensor, packaged in a 12"x14"x10" housing, is currently installed at a medical breath research center in Bethlehem, PA and tested as an instrument for non-invasive verification of liver and kidney disorders based on human breath samples.

  10. Equivalent circuit-level model of quantum cascade lasers with integrated hot-electron and hot-phonon effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousefvand, H. R.

    2017-12-01

    We report a study of the effects of hot-electron and hot-phonon dynamics on the output characteristics of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) using an equivalent circuit-level model. The model is developed from the energy balance equation to adopt the electron temperature in the active region levels, the heat transfer equation to include the lattice temperature, the nonequilibrium phonon rate to account for the hot phonon dynamics and simplified two-level rate equations to incorporate the carrier and photon dynamics in the active region. This technique simplifies the description of the electron-phonon interaction in QCLs far from the equilibrium condition. Using the presented model, the steady and transient responses of the QCLs for a wide range of sink temperatures (80 to 320 K) are investigated and analysed. The model enables us to explain the operating characteristics found in QCLs. This predictive model is expected to be applicable to all QCL material systems operating in pulsed and cw regimes.

  11. High power frequency comb based on mid-infrared quantum cascade laser at λ ∼ 9 μm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Q. Y.; Razeghi, M.; Slivken, S.; Bandyopadhyay, N.; Bai, Y.; Zhou, W. J.; Chen, M.; Heydari, D.; Haddadi, A.; McClintock, R.; Amanti, M.; Sirtori, C.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate a frequency comb source based on a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser at λ ∼ 9 μm with high power output. A broad flat-top gain with near-zero group velocity dispersion has been engineered using a dual-core active region structure. This favors the locking of the dispersed Fabry-Pérot modes into equally spaced frequency lines via four wave mixing. A current range with a narrow intermode beating linewidth of 3 kHz is identified with a fast detector and spectrum analyzer. This range corresponds to a broad spectral coverage of 65 cm −1 and a high power output of 180 mW for ∼176 comb modes

  12. Active standoff detection of CH4 and N2O leaks using hard-target backscattered light using an open-path quantum cascade laser sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Adrian; Thomas, Benjamin; Castillo, Paulo; Gross, Barry; Moshary, Fred

    2016-05-01

    Fugitive gas emissions from agricultural or industrial plants and gas pipelines are an important environmental concern as they contribute to the global increase of greenhouse gas concentrations. Moreover, they are also a security and safety concern because of possible risk of fire/explosion or toxicity. This study presents standoff detection of CH4 and N2O leaks using a quantum cascade laser open-path system that retrieves path-averaged concentrations by collecting the backscattered light from a remote hard target. It is a true standoff system and differs from other open-path systems that are deployed as point samplers or long-path transmission systems that use retroreflectors. The measured absorption spectra are obtained using a thermal intra-pulse frequency chirped DFB quantum cascade laser at ~7.7 µm wavelength range with ~200 ns pulse width. Making fast time resolved observations, the system simultaneously realizes high spectral resolution and range to the target, resulting in path-averaged concentration retrieval. The system performs measurements at high speed ~15 Hz and sufficient range (up to 45 m, ~148 feet) achieving an uncertainty of 3.1 % and normalized sensitivity of 3.3 ppm m Hz-1/2 for N2O and 9.3 % and normalized sensitivity of 30 ppm m Hz-1/2 for CH4 with a 0.31 mW average power QCL. Given these characteristics, this system is promising for mobile or multidirectional search and remote detection of gas leaks.

  13. High-energy coherent terahertz radiation emitted by wide-angle electron beams from a laser-wakefield accelerator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xue; Brunetti, Enrico; Jaroszynski, Dino A.

    2018-04-01

    High-charge electron beams produced by laser-wakefield accelerators are potentially novel, scalable sources of high-power terahertz radiation suitable for applications requiring high-intensity fields. When an intense laser pulse propagates in underdense plasma, it can generate femtosecond duration, self-injected picocoulomb electron bunches that accelerate on-axis to energies from 10s of MeV to several GeV, depending on laser intensity and plasma density. The process leading to the formation of the accelerating structure also generates non-injected, sub-picosecond duration, 1–2 MeV nanocoulomb electron beams emitted obliquely into a hollow cone around the laser propagation axis. These wide-angle beams are stable and depend weakly on laser and plasma parameters. Here we perform simulations to characterise the coherent transition radiation emitted by these beams if passed through a thin metal foil, or directly at the plasma–vacuum interface, showing that coherent terahertz radiation with 10s μJ to mJ-level energy can be produced with an optical to terahertz conversion efficiency up to 10‑4–10‑3.

  14. Laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera for the temporal characterization of ultrashort processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schuette, Bernd

    2011-09-15

    In this work, a novel laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera is presented. It allows for a pulse length characterization of femtosecond (fs) extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses by a cross-correlation with terahertz (THz) pulses generated with a Ti:sapphire laser. The XUV pulses are emitted by a source of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in which an intense near-infrared (NIR) fs laser pulse is focused into a gaseous medium. The design and characterization of a high-intensity THz source needed for the streak camera is also part of this thesis. The source is based on optical rectification of the same NIR laser pulse in a lithium niobate crystal. For this purpose, the pulse front of the NIR beam is tilted via a diffraction grating to achieve velocity matching between NIR and THz beams within the crystal. For the temporal characterization of the XUV pulses, both HHG and THz beams are focused onto a gas target. The harmonic radiation creates photoelectron wavepackets which are then accelerated by the THz field depending on its phase at the time of ionization. This principle adopted from a conventional streak camera and now widely used in attosecond metrology. The streak camera presented here is an advancement of a terahertz-field-driven streak camera implemented at the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH). The advantages of the laser-based streak camera lie in its compactness, cost efficiency and accessibility, while providing the same good quality of measurements as obtained at FLASH. In addition, its flexibility allows for a systematic investigation of streaked Auger spectra which is presented in this thesis. With its fs time resolution, the terahertz-field-driven streak camera thereby bridges the gap between attosecond and conventional cameras. (orig.)

  15. Laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera for the temporal characterization of ultrashort processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuette, Bernd

    2011-09-01

    In this work, a novel laser-based terahertz-field-driven streak camera is presented. It allows for a pulse length characterization of femtosecond (fs) extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses by a cross-correlation with terahertz (THz) pulses generated with a Ti:sapphire laser. The XUV pulses are emitted by a source of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in which an intense near-infrared (NIR) fs laser pulse is focused into a gaseous medium. The design and characterization of a high-intensity THz source needed for the streak camera is also part of this thesis. The source is based on optical rectification of the same NIR laser pulse in a lithium niobate crystal. For this purpose, the pulse front of the NIR beam is tilted via a diffraction grating to achieve velocity matching between NIR and THz beams within the crystal. For the temporal characterization of the XUV pulses, both HHG and THz beams are focused onto a gas target. The harmonic radiation creates photoelectron wavepackets which are then accelerated by the THz field depending on its phase at the time of ionization. This principle adopted from a conventional streak camera and now widely used in attosecond metrology. The streak camera presented here is an advancement of a terahertz-field-driven streak camera implemented at the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH). The advantages of the laser-based streak camera lie in its compactness, cost efficiency and accessibility, while providing the same good quality of measurements as obtained at FLASH. In addition, its flexibility allows for a systematic investigation of streaked Auger spectra which is presented in this thesis. With its fs time resolution, the terahertz-field-driven streak camera thereby bridges the gap between attosecond and conventional cameras. (orig.)

  16. Study of the exhaled acetone in type 1 diabetes using quantum cascade laser spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes-Reyes, Adonis; Horsten, Roland C; Urbach, H Paul; Bhattacharya, Nandini

    2015-01-06

    The acetone concentration exhaled in the breath of three type 1 diabetes patients (two minors and one adult) and one healthy volunteer is studied using a quantum cascade laser-based spectroscopic system. Using the acetone signature between 1150 and 1250 cm(-1) and a multiline fitting method, the concentration variations on the order of parts per billion by volume were measured. Blood glucose and ketone concentrations in blood measurements were performed simultaneously to study their relation with acetone in exhaled breath. We focus on personalized studies to better understand the role of acetone in diabetes. For each volunteer, we performed a series of measurements over a period of time, including overnight fastings of 11 ± 1 h and during ketosis-hyperglycemia events for the minors. Our results highlight the importance of performing personalized studies because the response of the minors to the presence of ketosis was consistent but unique for each individual. Also, our results emphasize the need for performing more studies with T1D minors, because the acetone concentration in the breath of the minors differs, with respect to those reported in the literature, which are based on adults.

  17. Towards terahertz detection and calibration through spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the terahertz idler-frequency range generated by a 795 nm diode laser system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir V. Kornienko

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available We study a calibration scheme for terahertz wave nonlinear-optical detectors based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Contrary to the usual low wavelength pump in the green, we report here on the observation of spontaneous parametric down-conversion originating from an in-growth poled lithium niobate crystal pumped with a continuous wave 50 mW, 795 nm diode laser system, phase-matched to a terahertz frequency idler wave. Such a system is more compact and allows for longer poling periods as well as lower losses in the crystal. Filtering the pump radiation by a rubidium-87 vapor cell allowed the frequency-angular spectra to be obtained down to ∼0.5 THz or ∼1 nm shift from the pump radiation line. The presence of an amplified spontaneous emission “pedestal” in the diode laser radiation spectrum significantly hampers the observation of spontaneous parametric down-conversion spectra, in contrast to conventional narrowband gas lasers. Benefits of switching to longer pump wavelengths are pointed out, such as collinear optical-terahertz phase-matching in bulk crystals.

  18. Towards terahertz detection and calibration through spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the terahertz idler-frequency range generated by a 795 nm diode laser system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kornienko, Vladimir V.; Kitaeva, Galiya Kh.; Sedlmeir, Florian; Leuchs, Gerd; Schwefel, Harald G. L.

    2018-05-01

    We study a calibration scheme for terahertz wave nonlinear-optical detectors based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Contrary to the usual low wavelength pump in the green, we report here on the observation of spontaneous parametric down-conversion originating from an in-growth poled lithium niobate crystal pumped with a continuous wave 50 mW, 795 nm diode laser system, phase-matched to a terahertz frequency idler wave. Such a system is more compact and allows for longer poling periods as well as lower losses in the crystal. Filtering the pump radiation by a rubidium-87 vapor cell allowed the frequency-angular spectra to be obtained down to ˜0.5 THz or ˜1 nm shift from the pump radiation line. The presence of an amplified spontaneous emission "pedestal" in the diode laser radiation spectrum significantly hampers the observation of spontaneous parametric down-conversion spectra, in contrast to conventional narrowband gas lasers. Benefits of switching to longer pump wavelengths are pointed out, such as collinear optical-terahertz phase-matching in bulk crystals.

  19. High power frequency comb based on mid-infrared quantum cascade laser at λ ∼ 9 μm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Q. Y.; Razeghi, M., E-mail: razeghi@eecs.northwestern.edu; Slivken, S.; Bandyopadhyay, N.; Bai, Y.; Zhou, W. J.; Chen, M.; Heydari, D.; Haddadi, A.; McClintock, R. [Center for Quantum Devices, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208 (United States); Amanti, M.; Sirtori, C. [Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques, Université Paris Diderot and CNRS, UMR7162, 75205 Paris (France)

    2015-02-02

    We investigate a frequency comb source based on a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser at λ ∼ 9 μm with high power output. A broad flat-top gain with near-zero group velocity dispersion has been engineered using a dual-core active region structure. This favors the locking of the dispersed Fabry-Pérot modes into equally spaced frequency lines via four wave mixing. A current range with a narrow intermode beating linewidth of 3 kHz is identified with a fast detector and spectrum analyzer. This range corresponds to a broad spectral coverage of 65 cm{sup −1} and a high power output of 180 mW for ∼176 comb modes.

  20. Artificial atom and quantum terahertz response in carbon nanotube quantum dots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishibashi, K; Moriyama, S; Fuse, T; Kawano, Y; Toyokawa, S; Yamaguchi, T

    2008-01-01

    Artificial atom behaviours have been observed in single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) quantum dots (QDs). Two-electron shell structures and the Zeeman splitting of single-particle states were revealed in single-electron transport measurements in low temperatures. To demonstrate that the charging energy of the dot lies in a terahertz (THz) range, the THz photon-assisted tunnelling was tested, and was really observed as a satellite Coulomb peak. Some satellite peaks moved as a frequency was changed, but other peaks did not move. We give possible models to explain the existence of two different satellite peaks.

  1. Power scaling and experimentally fitted model for broad area quantum cascade lasers in continuous wave operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suttinger, Matthew; Go, Rowel; Figueiredo, Pedro; Todi, Ankesh; Shu, Hong; Leshin, Jason; Lyakh, Arkadiy

    2018-01-01

    Experimental and model results for 15-stage broad area quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are presented. Continuous wave (CW) power scaling from 1.62 to 2.34 W has been experimentally demonstrated for 3.15-mm long, high reflection-coated QCLs for an active region width increased from 10 to 20 μm. A semiempirical model for broad area devices operating in CW mode is presented. The model uses measured pulsed transparency current, injection efficiency, waveguide losses, and differential gain as input parameters. It also takes into account active region self-heating and sublinearity of pulsed power versus current laser characteristic. The model predicts that an 11% improvement in maximum CW power and increased wall-plug efficiency can be achieved from 3.15 mm×25 μm devices with 21 stages of the same design, but half doping in the active region. For a 16-stage design with a reduced stage thickness of 300 Å, pulsed rollover current density of 6 kA/cm2, and InGaAs waveguide layers, an optical power increase of 41% is projected. Finally, the model projects that power level can be increased to ˜4.5 W from 3.15 mm×31 μm devices with the baseline configuration with T0 increased from 140 K for the present design to 250 K.

  2. Diode pumped cascade Er:Y2O3 laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanamyan, T

    2015-01-01

    A cascade, diode-pumped, continuous wave (CW), dual-wavelength operation in a 0.5% Er 3+ :Y 2 O 3 cryogenic ceramic laser is demonstrated for the first time. The laser operates on cascaded Er ( 4 I 11/2   →   4 I 13/2   →   4 I 15/2 ) transitions and can deliver 24 and 13 W at 1.6 and 2.7 μm, respectively. The overall efficiency with respect to the absorbed ∼980 nm power was 62%. This is, to our best knowledge, the first demonstration of an efficient, high power, cascade, erbium laser achieved in bulk solid-state lasers. The analysis of the output power, the laser’s wavelengths and slope efficiency for each individual laser transition are presented for pure CW operation mode. Also presented are the temporal behaviors of each laser line as a function of pump pulse duration in the quasi-CW regime. (letter)

  3. Controllable Continuous evolution of electronic states in a single quantum ring

    OpenAIRE

    Chakraborty, Tapash; Manaselyan, Aram; Barseghyan, Manuk; Laroze, David

    2017-01-01

    Intense terahertz laser field is shown to have a profound effect on the electronic and optical properties of quantum rings, where the isotropic and anisotropic quantum rings can now be treated on equal footing. We have demonstrated that in isotropic quantum rings the laser field creates irregular AB oscillations that are usually expected in anisotropic rings. Further, we have shown for the first time that intense laser fields can restore the {\\it isotropic} physical properties in anisotropic ...

  4. High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of Imidazole Clusters in Helium Droplets Using Quantum Cascade Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mani, Devendra; Can, Cihad; Pal, Nitish; Schwaab, Gerhard; Havenith, Martina

    2017-06-01

    Imidazole ring is a part of many biologically important molecules and drugs. Imidazole monomer, dimer and its complexes with water have earlier been studied using infrared spectroscopy in helium droplets^{1,2} and molecular beams^{3}. These studies were focussed on the N-H and O-H stretch regions, covering the spectral region of 3200-3800 \\wn. We have extended the studies on imidazole clusters into the ring vibration region. The imidazole clusters were isolated in helium droplets and were probed using a combination of infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The spectra in the region of 1000-1100 \\wn and 1300-1460 \\wn were recorded using quantum cascade lasers. Some of the observed bands could be assigned to imidazole monomer and higher order imidazole clusters, using pickup curve analysis and ab initio calculations. Work is still in progress. The results will be discussed in detail in the talk. References: 1) M.Y. Choi and R.E. Miller, J. Phys. Chem. A, 110, 9344 (2006). 2) M.Y. Choi and R.E. Miller, Chem. Phys. Lett., 477, 276 (2009). 3) J. Zischang, J. J. Lee and M. Suhm, J. Chem. Phys., 135, 061102 (2011). Note: This work was supported by the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (Ruhr-Universitat EXC1069) funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

  5. Berry phase dependent quantum trajectories of electron-hole pairs in semiconductors under intense terahertz fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Liu, Ren-Bao

    2013-03-01

    Quantum evolution of particles under strong fields can be approximated by the quantum trajectories that satisfy the stationary phase condition in the Dirac-Feynmann path integrals. The quantum trajectories are the key concept to understand strong-field optics phenomena, such as high-order harmonic generation (HHG), above-threshold ionization (ATI), and high-order terahertz siedeband generation (HSG). The HSG in semiconductors may have a wealth of physics due to the possible nontrivial ``vacuum'' states of band materials. We find that in a spin-orbit-coupled semiconductor, the cyclic quantum trajectories of an electron-hole pair under a strong terahertz field accumulates nontrivial Berry phases. We study the monolayer MoS2 as a model system and find that the Berry phases are given by the Faraday rotation angles of the pulse emission from the material under short-pulse excitation. This result demonstrates an interesting Berry phase dependent effect in the extremely nonlinear optics of semiconductors. This work is supported by Hong Kong RGC/GRF 401512 and the CUHK Focused Investments Scheme.

  6. Terahertz study of ultrafast carrier dynamics in InGa/GaN multiple quantum wells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Porte, Henrik; Turchinovich, Dmitry; Cooke, David

    2009-01-01

    Ultrafast carrier dynamics in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells is measured by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. The built-in piezoelectric field is initially screened by photoexcited, polarized carriers, and is gradullay restored as the carriers recombine. We observe a nonexponential decay...... of the carrier density. Time-integrated photoluminescence spectra have shown a complete screening of the built-in piezoelectric field at high excitation fluences. We also observe that the terahertz conductivity spectra differs from simple Drude conductivity, describing the response of free carriers, and are well...

  7. Theoretical study of the generation of terahertz radiation by the interaction of two laser beams with graphite nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sepehri Javan, N.; Rouhi Erdi, F.

    2017-12-01

    In this theoretical study, we investigate the generation of terahertz radiation by considering the beating of two similar Gaussian laser beams with different frequencies of ω1 and ω2 in a spatially modulated medium of graphite nanoparticles. The medium is assumed to contain spherical graphite nanoparticles of two different configurations: in the first configuration, the electric fields of the laser beams are parallel to the normal vector of the basal plane of the graphite structure, whereas in the second configuration, the electric fields are perpendicular to the normal vector of the basal plane. The interaction of the electric fields of lasers with the electronic clouds of the nanoparticles generates a ponderomotive force that in turn leads to the creation of a macroscopic electron current in the direction of laser polarizations and at the beat frequency ω1-ω2 , which can generate terahertz radiation. We show that, when the beat frequency lies near the effective plasmon frequency of the nanoparticles and the electric fields are parallel to the basal-plane normal, a resonant interaction of the laser beams causes intense terahertz radiation.

  8. Digitally controlled chirped pulse laser for sub-terahertz-range fiber structure interrogation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhen; Hefferman, Gerald; Wei, Tao

    2017-03-01

    This Letter reports a sweep velocity-locked laser pulse generator controlled using a digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) circuit. This design is used for the interrogation of sub-terahertz-range fiber structures for sensing applications that require real-time data collection with millimeter-level spatial resolution. A distributed feedback laser was employed to generate chirped laser pulses via injection current modulation. A DPLL circuit was developed to lock the optical frequency sweep velocity. A high-quality linearly chirped laser pulse with a frequency excursion of 117.69 GHz at an optical communication band was demonstrated. The system was further adopted to interrogate a continuously distributed sub-terahertz-range fiber structure (sub-THz-fs) for sensing applications. A strain test was conducted in which the sub-THz-fs showed a linear response to longitudinal strain change with predicted sensitivity. Additionally, temperature testing was conducted in which a heat source was used to generate a temperature distribution along the fiber structure to demonstrate its distributed sensing capability. A Gaussian temperature profile was measured using the described system and tracked in real time, as the heat source was moved.

  9. Quantum well lasers

    CERN Document Server

    Zory, Jr, Peter S; Kelley, Paul

    1993-01-01

    This book provides the information necessary for the reader to achieve a thorough understanding of all aspects of QW lasers - from the basic mechanism of optical gain, through the current technolgoical state of the art, to the future technologies of quantum wires and quantum dots. In view of the growing importance of QW lasers, this book should be read by all those with an active interest in laser science and technology, from the advanced student to the experienced laser scientist.* The first comprehensive book-length treatment of quantum well lasers* Provides a detailed treatment

  10. 5.5 W near-diffraction-limited power from resonant leaky-wave coupled phase-locked arrays of quantum cascade lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirch, J. D.; Chang, C.-C.; Boyle, C.; Mawst, L. J.; Botez, D.; Lindberg, D.; Earles, T.

    2015-01-01

    Five, 8.36 μm-emitting quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) have been monolithically phase-locked in the in-phase array mode via resonant leaky-wave coupling. The structure is fabricated by etch and regrowth which provides large index steps (Δn = 0.10) between antiguided-array elements and interelement regions. Such high index contrast photonic-crystal (PC) lasers have more than an order of magnitude higher index contrast than PC-distributed feedback lasers previously used for coherent beam combining in QCLs. Absorption loss to metal layers inserted in the interelement regions provides a wide (∼1.0 μm) range in interelement width over which the resonant in-phase mode is strongly favored to lase. Room-temperature, in-phase-mode operation with ∼2.2 kA/cm 2 threshold-current density is obtained from 105 μm-wide aperture devices. The far-field beam pattern has lobewidths 1.65× diffraction limit (D.L.) and 82% of the light in the main lobe, up to 1.8× threshold. Peak pulsed near-D.L. power of 5.5 W is obtained, with 4.5 W emitted in the main lobe. Means of how to increase the device internal efficiency are discussed

  11. Time-resolved temperature measurements in a rapid compression machine using quantum cascade laser absorption in the intrapulse mode

    KAUST Repository

    Nasir, Ehson Fawad

    2016-07-16

    A temperature sensor based on the intrapulse absorption spectroscopy technique has been developed to measure in situ temperature time-histories in a rapid compression machine (RCM). Two quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) emitting near 4.55μm and 4.89μm were operated in pulsed mode, causing a frequency "down-chirp" across two ro-vibrational transitions of carbon monoxide. The down-chirp phenomenon resulted in large spectral tuning (δν ∼2.8cm-1) within a single pulse of each laser at a high pulse repetition frequency (100kHz). The wide tuning range allowed the application of the two-line thermometry technique, thus making the sensor quantitative and calibration-free. The sensor was first tested in non-reactive CO-N2 gas mixtures in the RCM and then applied to cases of n-pentane oxidation. Experiments were carried out for end of compression (EOC) pressures and temperatures ranging 9.21-15.32bar and 745-827K, respectively. Measured EOC temperatures agreed with isentropic calculations within 5%. Temperature rise measured during the first-stage ignition of n-pentane is over-predicted by zero-dimensional kinetic simulations. This work presents, for the first time, highly time-resolved temperature measurements in reactive and non-reactive rapid compression machine experiments. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.

  12. High-accuracy and high-sensitivity spectroscopic measurement of dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) in an atmospheric simulation chamber using a quantum cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Hongming; Wu, Tao; Lauraguais, Amélie; Semenov, Vladimir; Coeur, Cecile; Cassez, Andy; Fertein, Eric; Gao, Xiaoming; Chen, Weidong

    2017-12-04

    A spectroscopic instrument based on a mid-infrared external cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) was developed for high-accuracy measurements of dinitrogen pentoxide (N 2 O 5 ) at the ppbv-level. A specific concentration retrieval algorithm was developed to remove, from the broadband absorption spectrum of N 2 O 5 , both etalon fringes resulting from the EC-QCL intrinsic structure and spectral interference lines of H 2 O vapour absorption, which led to a significant improvement in measurement accuracy and detection sensitivity (by a factor of 10), compared to using a traditional algorithm for gas concentration retrieval. The developed EC-QCL-based N 2 O 5 sensing platform was evaluated by real-time tracking N 2 O 5 concentration in its most important nocturnal tropospheric chemical reaction of NO 3 + NO 2 ↔ N 2 O 5 in an atmospheric simulation chamber. Based on an optical absorption path-length of L eff = 70 m, a minimum detection limit of 15 ppbv was achieved with a 25 s integration time and it was down to 3 ppbv in 400 s. The equilibrium rate constant K eq involved in the above chemical reaction was determined with direct concentration measurements using the developed EC-QCL sensing platform, which was in good agreement with the theoretical value deduced from a referenced empirical formula under well controlled experimental conditions. The present work demonstrates the potential and the unique advantage of the use of a modern external cavity quantum cascade laser for applications in direct quantitative measurement of broadband absorption of key molecular species involved in chemical kinetic and climate-change related tropospheric chemistry.

  13. CO concentration and temperature sensor for combustion gases using quantum-cascade laser absorption near 4.7 μm

    KAUST Repository

    Ren, Wei; Farooq, Aamir; Davidson, David Frank; Hanson, Ronald Kenneth

    2012-01-01

    A sensor for sensitive in situ measurements of carbon monoxide and temperature in combustion gases has been developed using absorption transitions in the (v′ = 1 ← v″ = 0) and (v′ = 2 ← v″ = 1) fundamental bands of CO. Recent availability of mid-infrared quantum-cascade (QC) lasers provides convenient access to the CO fundamental band near 4.7 μm, having approximately 104 and 102 times stronger absorption line-strengths compared to the overtone bands near 1.55 μm and 2.3 μm used previously to sense CO in combustion gases. Spectroscopic parameters of the selected transitions were determined via laboratory measurements in a shock tube over the 1100-2000 K range and also at room temperature. A single-laser absorption sensor was developed for accurate CO measurements in shock-heated gases by scanning the line pair v″ = 0, R(12) and v″ = 1, R(21) at 2.5 kHz. To capture the rapidly varying CO time-histories in chemical reactions, two different QC lasers were then used to probe the line-center absorbance of transitions v″ = 0, P(20) and v″ = 1, R(21) with a bandwidth of 1 MHz using fixed-wavelength direct absorption. The sensor was applied in successful shock tube measurements of temperature and CO time-histories during the pyrolysis and oxidation of methyl formate, illustrating the capability of this sensor for chemical kinetic studies. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

  14. CO concentration and temperature sensor for combustion gases using quantum-cascade laser absorption near 4.7 μm

    KAUST Repository

    Ren, Wei

    2012-05-25

    A sensor for sensitive in situ measurements of carbon monoxide and temperature in combustion gases has been developed using absorption transitions in the (v′ = 1 ← v″ = 0) and (v′ = 2 ← v″ = 1) fundamental bands of CO. Recent availability of mid-infrared quantum-cascade (QC) lasers provides convenient access to the CO fundamental band near 4.7 μm, having approximately 104 and 102 times stronger absorption line-strengths compared to the overtone bands near 1.55 μm and 2.3 μm used previously to sense CO in combustion gases. Spectroscopic parameters of the selected transitions were determined via laboratory measurements in a shock tube over the 1100-2000 K range and also at room temperature. A single-laser absorption sensor was developed for accurate CO measurements in shock-heated gases by scanning the line pair v″ = 0, R(12) and v″ = 1, R(21) at 2.5 kHz. To capture the rapidly varying CO time-histories in chemical reactions, two different QC lasers were then used to probe the line-center absorbance of transitions v″ = 0, P(20) and v″ = 1, R(21) with a bandwidth of 1 MHz using fixed-wavelength direct absorption. The sensor was applied in successful shock tube measurements of temperature and CO time-histories during the pyrolysis and oxidation of methyl formate, illustrating the capability of this sensor for chemical kinetic studies. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

  15. Experimental and theoretical investigations of photocurrents in non-centrosymmetric semiconductor quantum wells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duc, Huynh Thanh; Foerstner, Jens; Meier, Torsten [Department of Physics and CeOPP, University Paderborn (Germany); Priyadarshi, Shekar; Racu, Ana Maria; Pierz, Klaus; Siegner, Uwe; Bieler, Mark [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    We compute photocurrents generated by femtosecond single-color laser pulses in non-centrosymmetric semiconductor quantum wells by combining a 14 x 14 k.p band structure theory with multi-band semiconductor Bloch equations. The transient photocurrents are investigated experimentally by measuring the associated Terahertz emission. The dependencies of the photocurrent and the Terahertz emission on the excitation conditions are discussed for (110)-oriented GaAs quantum wells. The comparison between theory and experiment shows a good agreement.

  16. Terahertz-bandwidth coherence measurements of a quantum dash laser in passive and active mode-locking operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Eamonn; Watts, Regan; Bramerie, Laurent; Shen, Alexandre; Gariah, Harry; Blache, Fabrice; Lelarge, Francois; Barry, Liam

    2012-12-01

    This research carries out coherence measurements of a 42.7 GHz quantum dash (QDash) semiconductor laser when passively, electrically, and optically mode-locked. Coherence of the spectral lines from the mode-locked laser is determined by examining the radio frequency beat-tone linewidth as the mode spacing is increased up to 1.1 THz. Electric-field measurements of the QDash laser are also presented, from which a comparison between experimental results and accepted theory for coherence in passively mode-locked lasers has been performed.

  17. A Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Optical Sensor for Continuous Monitoring of Environmental Methane in Dunkirk (France

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rabih Maamary

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available A room-temperature continuous-wave (CW quantum cascade laser (QCL-based methane (CH4 sensor operating in the mid-infrared near 8 μm was developed for continuous measurement of CH4 concentrations in ambient air. The well-isolated absorption line (7F2,4 ← 8F1,2 of the ν4 fundamental band of CH4 located at 1255.0004 cm−1 was used for optical measurement of CH4 concentration by direct absorption in a White-type multipass cell with an effective path-length of 175 m. A 1σ (SNR = 1 detection limit of 33.3 ppb in 218 s was achieved with a measurement precision of 1.13%. The developed sensor was deployed in a campaign of measurements of time series CH4 concentration on a site near a suburban traffic road in Dunkirk (France from 9th to 22nd January 2013. An episode of high CH4 concentration of up to ~3 ppm has been observed and analyzed with the help of meteorological parameters combined with back trajectory calculation using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT model of NOAA.

  18. Development of a diamond waveguide sensor for sensitive protein analysis using IR quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piron, P.; Vargas Catalan, E.; Haas, J.; Österlund, L.; Nikolajeff, F.; Andersson, P. O.; Bergström, J.; Mizaikoff, B.; Karlsson, M.

    2018-02-01

    Microfabricated diamond waveguides, between 5 and 20 μm thick, manufactured by chemical vapor deposition of diamond, followed by standard lithographic techniques and inductively coupled plasma etching of diamond, are used as bio-chemical sensors in the mid infrared domain: 5-11 μm. Infrared light, emitted from a broadly tunable quantum cascade laser with a wavelength resolution smaller than 20 nm, is coupled through the diamond waveguides for attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. The expected advantages of these waveguides are a high sensitivity due to the high number of internal reflections along the propagation direction, a high transmittance in the mid-IR domain, the bio-compatibility of diamond and the possibility of functionalizing the surface layer. The sensor will be used for analyzing different forms of proteins such as α-synuclein which is relevant in understanding the mechanism behind Parkinson's disease. The fabrication process of the waveguide, its characteristics and several geometries are introduced. The optical setup of the biosensor is described and our first measurements on two analytes to demonstrate the principle of the sensing method will be presented. Future use of this sensor includes the functionalization of the diamond waveguide sensor surface to be able to fish out alpha-synuclein from cerebrospinal fluid.

  19. Interferometric modulation of quantum cascade interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cusumano, Stefano; Mari, Andrea; Giovannetti, Vittorio

    2018-05-01

    We consider many-body quantum systems dissipatively coupled by a cascade network, i.e., a setup in which interactions are mediated by unidirectional environmental modes propagating through a linear optical interferometer. In particular we are interested in the possibility of inducing different effective interactions by properly engineering an external dissipative network of beam splitters and phase shifters. In this work we first derive the general structure of the master equation for a symmetric class of translation-invariant cascade networks. Then we show how, by tuning the parameters of the interferometer, one can exploit interference effects to tailor a large variety of many-body interactions.

  20. Quantum steering in cascaded four-wave mixing processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Li; Lv, Shuchao; Jing, Jietai

    2017-07-24

    Quantum steering is used to describe the "spooky action-at-a-distance" nonlocality raised in the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox, which is important for understanding entanglement distribution and constructing quantum networks. Here, in this paper, we study an experimentally feasible scheme for generating quantum steering based on cascaded four-wave-mixing (FWM) processes in hot rubidium (Rb) vapor. Quantum steering, including bipartite steering and genuine tripartite steering among the output light fields, is theoretically analyzed. We find the corresponding gain regions in which the bipartite and tripartite steering exist. The results of bipartite steering can be used to establish a hierarchical steering model in which one beam can steer the other two beams in the whole gain region; however, the other two beams cannot steer the first beam simultaneously. Moreover, the other two beams cannot steer with each other in the whole gain region. More importantly, we investigate the gain dependence of the existence of the genuine tripartite steering and we find that the genuine tripartite steering exists in most of the whole gain region in the ideal case. Also we discuss the effect of losses on the genuine tripartite steering. Our results pave the way to experimental demonstration of quantum steering in cascaded FWM process.

  1. A photothermal Mach-Zehnder interferometer for measuring caffeine and proteins in aqueous solutions using external cavity quantum cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristament, Christian; Schwaighofer, Andreas; Montemurro, Milagros; Lendl, Bernhard

    2018-02-01

    One of the advantages of mid-IR spectroscopy in biomedical research lies in its capability to provide direct information on the secondary structure of proteins in their natural, often aqueous, environment. One impediment of direct absorption measurements in the correspondent spectral region is the strong absorbance of the native solvent (H2O). In this regard, the advent of broadly-tunable external cavity quantum cascade lasers (EC-QCL) allowed to significantly increasing the optical path length employed in transmission measurements due to their high spectral power densities. Low measured S/N ratios were improved by elaborated data analysis protocols that corrected mechanical flaws in the tuning mechanism of ECQCLs and allow for S/N ratios comparable to research grade FTIR spectrometers. Recent development of new optical set-ups outpacing direct absorption measurements led to further advancements. We present a dedicated Mach-Zehnder interferometer for photothermal measurements in balanced detection mode. In this highly sensitive design, the interferometer is illuminated by a HeNe laser to detect the refractive index change induced by the heat insertion of the EC-QCL. Here, we present photothermal phase shift interferometry measurements of caffeine in ethanol as well as casein in water. Further, the dependency of the signal amplitude on varying modulation frequencies was investigated for different liquids.

  2. Comparison between laser terahertz emission microscope and conventional methods for analysis of polycrystalline silicon solar cell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidetoshi Nakanishi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available A laser terahertz emission microscope (LTEM can be used for noncontact inspection to detect the waveforms of photoinduced terahertz emissions from material devices. In this study, we experimentally compared the performance of LTEM with conventional analysis methods, e.g., electroluminescence (EL, photoluminescence (PL, and laser beam induced current (LBIC, as an inspection method for solar cells. The results showed that LTEM was more sensitive to the characteristics of the depletion layer of the polycrystalline solar cell compared with EL, PL, and LBIC and that it could be used as a complementary tool to the conventional analysis methods for a solar cell.

  3. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy coupled with an external-cavity quantum cascade laser operating between 7.5 and 8 µm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maity, Abhijit; Pal, Mithun; Maithani, Sanchi; Dutta Banik, Gourab; Pradhan, Manik

    2018-04-01

    We demonstrate a mid-infrared detection strategy with 1f-normalized 2f-wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS-2f/1f) using a continuous wave (CW) external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) operating between 7.5 and 8 µm. The detailed performance of the WMS-2f/1f detection method was evaluated by making rotationally resolved measurements in the (ν 4  +  ν 5) combination band of acetylene (C2H2) at 1311.7600 cm-1. A noise-limited detection limit of three parts per billion (ppb) with an integration time of 110 s was achieved for C2H2 detection. The present high-resolution CW-EC-QCL system coupled with the WMS-2f/1f strategy was further validated with an extended range of C2H2 concentration of 0.1-1000 ppm, which shows excellent promise for real-life practical sensing applications. Finally, we utilized the WMS-2f/1f technique to measure the C2H2 concentration in the exhaled breath of smokers.

  4. Molecular-beam epitaxy growth and characterization of 5-μm quantum cascade laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mamutin, V V; Ustinov, V M; Ilyinskaya, N D; Baydakova, M V; Ber, B Ya; Kasantsev, D Yu

    2011-01-01

    Molecular-beam epitaxy growth of 5 μm emitting strain-compensated quantum semiconductor laser (QCL) is reported. The QCL structure is characterized by complementary techniques: high-resolution X-ray diffraction and dynamical secondary-ion mass-spectrometry, that reveal the high quality of QCL structure and in-depth distribution of chemical composition, respectively.

  5. Electrical tuning of the oscillator strength in type II InAs/GaInSb quantum wells for active region of passively mode-locked interband cascade lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyksik, Mateusz; Motyka, Marcin; Kurka, Marcin; Ryczko, Krzysztof; Misiewicz, Jan; Schade, Anne; Kamp, Martin; Höfling, Sven; Sęk, Grzegorz

    2017-11-01

    Two designs of active region for an interband cascade laser, based on double or triple GaInSb/InAs type II quantum wells (QWs), were compared with respect to passive mode-locked operation in the mid-infrared range around 4 µm. The layer structure and electron and hole wavefunctions under external electric field were engineered to allow controlling the optical transition oscillator strength and the resulting lifetimes. As a result, the investigated structures can mimic absorber-like and gain-like sections of a mode-locked device when properly polarized with opposite bias. A significantly larger oscillator strength tuning range for triple QWs was experimentally verified by Fourier-transform photoreflectance.

  6. Reversed Cherenkov emission of terahertz waves from an ultrashort laser pulse in a sandwich structure with nonlinear core and left-handed cladding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakunov, M I; Mikhaylovskiy, R V; Bodrov, S B; Luk'yanchuk, B S

    2010-01-18

    We propose a scheme for an experimental verification of the reversed Cherenkov effect in left-handed media. The scheme uses optical-to-terahertz conversion in a planar sandwichlike structure that consists of a nonlinear core cladded with a material that exhibits left-handedness at terahertz frequencies. The focused into a line femtosecond laser pulse propagates in the core and emits Cherenkov wedge of terahertz waves in the cladding. We developed a theory that describes terahertz generation in such a structure and calculated spatial distribution of the generated terahertz field, its energy spectrum, and optical-to-terahertz conversion efficiency. The proposed structure can be a useful tool for characterization of the electromagnetic properties of metamaterials in the terahertz frequency range.

  7. Terahertz Plasma Waves in Two Dimensional Quantum Electron Gas with Electron Scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Liping

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the Terahertz (THz) plasma waves in a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in a nanometer field effect transistor (FET) with quantum effects, the electron scattering, the thermal motion of electrons and electron exchange-correlation. We find that, while the electron scattering, the wave number along y direction and the electron exchange-correlation suppress the radiation power, but the thermal motion of electrons and the quantum effects can amplify the radiation power. The radiation frequency decreases with electron exchange-correlation contributions, but increases with quantum effects, the wave number along y direction and thermal motion of electrons. It is worth mentioning that the electron scattering has scarce influence on the radiation frequency. These properties could be of great help to the realization of practical THz plasma oscillations in nanometer FET. (paper)

  8. Imaginary geometric phases of quantum trajectories in high-order terahertz sideband generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Liu, Ren-Bao

    2014-03-01

    Quantum evolution of particles under strong fields can be described by a small number of quantum trajectories that satisfy the stationary phase condition in the Dirac-Feynmann path integral. The quantum trajectories are the key concept to understand the high-order terahertz siedeband generation (HSG) in semiconductors. Due to the nontrivial ``vacuum'' states of band materials, the quantum trajectories of optically excited electron-hole pairs in semiconductors can accumulate geometric phases under the driving of an elliptically polarized THz field. We find that the geometric phase of the stationary trajectory is generally complex with both real and imaginary parts. In monolayer MoS2, the imaginary parts of the geometric phase leads to a changing of the polarization ellipticity of the sideband. We further show that the imaginary part originates from the quantum interference of many trajectories with different phases. Thus the observation of the polarization ellipticity of the sideband shall be a good indication of the quantum nature of the stationary trajectory. This work is supported by Hong Kong RGC/GRF 401512 and the CUHK Focused Investments Scheme.

  9. Intrinsic Dynamics of Quantum-Dash Lasers

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Cheng; Djie, Hery Susanto; Hwang, James C. M.; Koch, Thomas L.; Lester, Luke F.; Ooi, Boon S.; Wang, Yang

    2011-01-01

    Temperature-dependent intrinsic modulation response of InAs/InAlGaAs quantum-dash lasers was investigated by using pulse optical injection modulation to minimize the effects of parasitics and self-heating. Compared to typical quantum-well lasers, the quantum-dash lasers were found to have comparable differential gain but approximately twice the gain compression factor, probably due to carrier heating by free-carrier absorption, as opposed to stimulated transition. Therefore, the narrower modulation bandwidth of the quantum-dash lasers than that of quantum-well lasers was attributed to their higher gain compression factor. In addition, as expected, quantum-dash lasers with relatively long and uniform dashes exhibit higher temperature stability than quantum-well lasers. However, the lasers with relatively short and nonuniform dashes exhibit stronger temperature dependence, probably due to their higher surface-to-volume ratio and nonuniform dash sizes. © 2011 IEEE.

  10. Intrinsic Dynamics of Quantum-Dash Lasers

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Cheng

    2011-10-01

    Temperature-dependent intrinsic modulation response of InAs/InAlGaAs quantum-dash lasers was investigated by using pulse optical injection modulation to minimize the effects of parasitics and self-heating. Compared to typical quantum-well lasers, the quantum-dash lasers were found to have comparable differential gain but approximately twice the gain compression factor, probably due to carrier heating by free-carrier absorption, as opposed to stimulated transition. Therefore, the narrower modulation bandwidth of the quantum-dash lasers than that of quantum-well lasers was attributed to their higher gain compression factor. In addition, as expected, quantum-dash lasers with relatively long and uniform dashes exhibit higher temperature stability than quantum-well lasers. However, the lasers with relatively short and nonuniform dashes exhibit stronger temperature dependence, probably due to their higher surface-to-volume ratio and nonuniform dash sizes. © 2011 IEEE.

  11. Controllable continuous evolution of electronic states in a single quantum ring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Tapash; Manaselyan, Aram; Barseghyan, Manuk; Laroze, David

    2018-02-01

    An intense terahertz laser field is shown to have a profound effect on the electronic and optical properties of quantum rings where the isotropic and anisotropic quantum rings can now be treated on equal footing. We have demonstrated that in isotropic quantum rings the laser field creates unusual Aharonov-Bohm oscillations that are usually expected in anisotropic rings. Furthermore, we have shown that intense laser fields can restore the isotropic physical properties in anisotropic quantum rings. In principle, all types of anisotropies (structural, effective masses, defects, etc.) can evolve as in isotropic rings in our present approach. Most importantly, we have found a continuous evolution of the energy spectra and intraband optical characteristics of structurally anisotropic quantum rings to those of isotropic rings in a controlled manner with the help of a laser field.

  12. Interband cascade light emitting devices based on type-II quantum wells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Rui Q.; Lin, C.H.; Murry, S.J.

    1997-01-01

    The authors discuss physical processes in the newly developed type-II interband cascade light emitting devices, and review their recent progress in the demonstration of the first type-II interband cascade lasers and the observation of interband cascade electroluminescence up to room temperature in a broad mid-infrared wavelength region (extended to 9 μm)

  13. Quantum theory of terahertz conductivity of semiconductor nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostatnický, T.; Pushkarev, V.; Němec, H.; Kužel, P.

    2018-02-01

    Efficient and controlled charge carrier transport through nanoelements is currently a primordial question in the research of nanoelectronic materials and structures. We develop a quantum-mechanical theory of the conductivity spectra of confined charge carriers responding to an electric field from dc regime up to optical frequencies. The broken translation symmetry induces a broadband drift-diffusion current, which is not taken into account in the analysis based on Kubo formula and relaxation time approximation. We show that this current is required to ensure that the dc conductivity of isolated nanostructures correctly attains zero. It causes a significant reshaping of the conductivity spectra up to terahertz or multiterahertz spectral ranges, where the electron scattering rate is typically comparable to or larger than the probing frequency.

  14. Compact four-channel terahertz demultiplexer based on directional coupling photonic crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiu-Sheng, Li; Han, Liu; Le, Zhang

    2015-09-01

    Electromagnetic polarization conveys valuable information for signal processing. Manipulation of terahertz wavelength demultiplexer exhibits tremendous potential in developing application of terahertz science and technology. We propose an approach to separate efficiently four frequencies terahertz waves based on three cascaded directional coupling two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides. Both plane wave expansion method and finite-difference time-domain method are used to calculate and analyze the characteristics of the proposed device. The simulation results show that the designed terahertz wavelength demultiplexer can split four different wavelengths of terahertz wave into different propagation directions with high transmittance and low crosstalk. The present device is very compact and the total size is 6.8×10.6 mm2. This enables the terahertz wavelength demultiplexer to be used in terahertz wave system and terahertz wave integrated circuit fields.

  15. Long-range energy transfer in self-assembled quantum dot-DNA cascades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Samuel M.; Siu, Albert; Singh, Vivek; Nagpal, Prashant

    2015-11-01

    The size-dependent energy bandgaps of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) can be utilized in converting broadband incident radiation efficiently into electric current by cascade energy transfer (ET) between layers of different sized quantum dots, followed by charge dissociation and transport in the bottom layer. Self-assembling such cascade structures with angstrom-scale spatial precision is important for building realistic devices, and DNA-based QD self-assembly can provide an important alternative. Here we show long-range Dexter energy transfer in QD-DNA self-assembled single constructs and ensemble devices. Using photoluminescence, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, current-sensing AFM measurements in single QD-DNA cascade constructs, and temperature-dependent ensemble devices using TiO2 nanotubes, we show that Dexter energy transfer, likely mediated by the exciton-shelves formed in these QD-DNA self-assembled structures, can be used for efficient transport of energy across QD-DNA thin films.The size-dependent energy bandgaps of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) can be utilized in converting broadband incident radiation efficiently into electric current by cascade energy transfer (ET) between layers of different sized quantum dots, followed by charge dissociation and transport in the bottom layer. Self-assembling such cascade structures with angstrom-scale spatial precision is important for building realistic devices, and DNA-based QD self-assembly can provide an important alternative. Here we show long-range Dexter energy transfer in QD-DNA self-assembled single constructs and ensemble devices. Using photoluminescence, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, current-sensing AFM measurements in single QD-DNA cascade constructs, and temperature-dependent ensemble devices using TiO2 nanotubes, we show that Dexter energy transfer, likely mediated by the exciton-shelves formed in these QD-DNA self-assembled structures, can be used for efficient

  16. Power-scalable, polarization-stable, dual-colour DFB fibre laser system for CW terahertz imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eichhorn, Finn; Pedersen, Jens Engholm; Jepsen, Peter Uhd

    Imaging with electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz (THz) range has received a large amount of attention during recent years. THz imaging systems have diverse potential application areas such as security screening, medical diagnostics and non-destructive testing. We will discuss a power......-scalable, dual-colour, polarization-maintaining distributed feedback (DFB) fibre laser system with an inherent narrow linewidth from the DFB fibre laser oscillators. The laser system can be used as source in CW THz systems employing photomixing (optical heterodyning) for generation and detection...

  17. Terahertz repetition frequencies from harmonic mode-locked monolithic compound-cavity laser diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanson, D. A.; Street, M. W.; McDougall, S. D.; Thayne, I. G.; Marsh, J. H.; Avrutin, E. A.

    2001-01-01

    Compound-cavity laser diodes are mode locked at a harmonic of the fundamental round-trip frequency to achieve repetition rates of up to 2.1 THz. The devices are fabricated from GaAs/AlGaAs material at a wavelength of 860 nm and incorporate two gain sections with an etched slot reflector between them, and a saturable absorber section. Autocorrelation studies are used to investigate device behavior for different reflector types and reflectivity. These lasers may find applications in terahertz imaging, medicine, ultrafast optical links, and atmospheric sensing. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  18. High field terahertz emission from relativistic laser-driven plasma wakefields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Zi-Yu, E-mail: Ziyu.Chen@uni-duesseldorf.de [Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225 (Germany); LSD, Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621999 (China); Pukhov, Alexander [Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225 (Germany)

    2015-10-15

    We propose a method to generate high field terahertz (THz) radiation with peak strength of GV/cm level in the THz frequency gap range of 1–10 THz using a relativistic laser interaction with a gaseous plasma target. Due to the effect of local pump depletion, an initially Gaussian laser pulse undergoes leading edge erosion and eventually evolves to a state with leading edge being step function. Interacting with such a pulse, electrons gain transverse residual momentum and excite net transverse currents modulated by the relativistic plasma frequency. These currents give rise to the low frequency THz emission. We demonstrate this process with one and two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

  19. Electromagnetic Saturation of Angstrom-Sized Quantum Barriers at Terahertz Frequencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahk, Young-Mi; Kang, Bong Joo; Kim, Yong Seung; Kim, Joon-Yeon; Kim, Won Tae; Kim, Tae Yun; Kang, Taehee; Rhie, Jiyeah; Han, Sanghoon; Park, Cheol-Hwan; Rotermund, Fabian; Kim, Dai-Sik

    2015-09-01

    Metal-graphene-metal hybrid structures allow angstrom-scale van der Waals gaps, across which electron tunneling occurs. We squeeze terahertz electromagnetic waves through these λ /10 000 000 gaps, accompanied by giant field enhancements. Unprecedented transmission reduction of 97% is achieved with the transient voltage across the gap saturating at 5 V. Electron tunneling facilitated by the transient electric field strongly modifies the gap index, starting a self-limiting process related to the barrier height. Our work enables greater interplay between classical optics and quantum tunneling, and provides optical indices to the van der Waals gaps.

  20. Electromagnetic Saturation of Angstrom-Sized Quantum Barriers at Terahertz Frequencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahk, Young-Mi; Kang, Bong Joo; Kim, Yong Seung; Kim, Joon-Yeon; Kim, Won Tae; Kim, Tae Yun; Kang, Taehee; Rhie, Jiyeah; Han, Sanghoon; Park, Cheol-Hwan; Rotermund, Fabian; Kim, Dai-Sik

    2015-09-18

    Metal-graphene-metal hybrid structures allow angstrom-scale van der Waals gaps, across which electron tunneling occurs. We squeeze terahertz electromagnetic waves through these λ/10 000 000 gaps, accompanied by giant field enhancements. Unprecedented transmission reduction of 97% is achieved with the transient voltage across the gap saturating at 5 V. Electron tunneling facilitated by the transient electric field strongly modifies the gap index, starting a self-limiting process related to the barrier height. Our work enables greater interplay between classical optics and quantum tunneling, and provides optical indices to the van der Waals gaps.

  1. Modeling terahertz heating effects on water

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Torben T.L.; Withayachumnankul, Withawat; Jepsen, Peter Uhd

    2010-01-01

    down to a spot with a diameter of 0.5 mm, we find that the steadystate temperature increase per milliwatt of transmitted power is 1.8◦C/mW. A quantum cascade laser can produce a CW beam in the order of several milliwatts and this motivates the need to estimate the effect of beam power on the sample...

  2. Electromagnetic cascade in high-energy electron, positron, and photon interactions with intense laser pulses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulanov, S. S.; Schroeder, C. B.; Esarey, E.; Leemans, W. P.

    2013-06-01

    The interaction of high-energy electrons, positrons, and photons with intense laser pulses is studied in head-on collision geometry. It is shown that electrons and/or positrons undergo a cascade-type process involving multiple emissions of photons. These photons can consequently convert into electron-positron pairs. As a result charged particles quickly lose their energy developing an exponentially decaying energy distribution, which suppresses the emission of high-energy photons, thus reducing the number of electron-positron pairs being generated. Therefore, this type of interaction suppresses the development of the electromagnetic avalanche-type discharge, i.e., the exponential growth of the number of electrons, positrons, and photons does not occur in the course of interaction. The suppression will occur when three-dimensional effects can be neglected in the transverse particle orbits, i.e., for sufficiently broad laser pulses with intensities that are not too extreme. The final distributions of electrons, positrons, and photons are calculated for the case of a high-energy e-beam interacting with a counterstreaming, short intense laser pulse. The energy loss of the e-beam, which requires a self-consistent quantum description, plays an important role in this process, as well as provides a clear experimental observable for the transition from the classical to quantum regime of interaction.

  3. Real time detection of exhaled human breath using quantum cascade laser based sensor technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tittel, Frank K.; Lewicki, Rafal; Dong, Lei; Liu, Kun; Risby, Terence H.; Solga, Steven; Schwartz, Tim

    2012-02-01

    The development and performance of a cw, TE-cooled DFB quantum cascade laser based sensor for quantitative measurements of ammonia (NH3) and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations present in exhaled breath will be reported. Human breath contains ~ 500 different chemical species, usually at ultra low concentration levels, which can serve as biomarkers for the identification and monitoring of human diseases or wellness states. By monitoring NH3 concentration levels in exhaled breath a fast, non-invasive diagnostic method for treatment of patients with liver and kidney disorders, is feasible. The NH3 concentration measurements were performed with a 2f wavelength modulation quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) technique, which is suitable for real time breath measurements, due to the fast gas exchange inside a compact QEPAS gas cell. A Hamamatsu air-cooled high heat load (HHL) packaged CW DFB-QCL is operated at 17.5°C, targeting the optimum interference free NH3 absorption line at 967.35 cm-1 (λ~10.34 μm), with ~ 20 mW of optical power. The sensor architecture includes a reference cell, filled with a 2000 ppmv NH3 :N2 mixture at 130 Torr, which is used for absorption line-locking. A minimum detection limit (1σ) for the line locked NH3 sensor is ~ 6 ppbv (with a 1σ 1 sec time resolution of the control electronics). This NH3 sensor was installed in late 2010 and is being clinically tested at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA.

  4. Continuous wave terahertz radiation from an InAs/GaAs quantum-dot photomixer device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruczek, T.; Leyman, R.; Carnegie, D.; Bazieva, N.; Erbert, G.; Schulz, S.; Reardon, C.; Reynolds, S.; Rafailov, E. U.

    2012-08-01

    Generation of continuous wave radiation at terahertz (THz) frequencies from a heterodyne source based on quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor materials is reported. The source comprises an active region characterised by multiple alternating photoconductive and QD carrier trapping layers and is pumped by two infrared optical signals with slightly offset wavelengths, allowing photoconductive device switching at the signals' difference frequency ˜1 THz.

  5. Terahertz pulse generation from metal nanoparticle ink

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Kosaku; Takano, Keisuke; Tadokoro, Yuzuru; Phan, Thanh Nhat Khoa; Nakajima, Makoto

    2016-11-01

    Terahertz pulse generation from metallic nanostructures irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses is of interest because the conversion efficiency from laser pulses to terahertz waves is increased by the local field enhancement resulting from the plasmon oscillation. In this talk we present our recent study on terahertz generation from metal nanoparticle ink. We baked a silver nanoparticle ink spin-coated onto a glass coverslip in various temperatures. On the surface of the baked ink, bumpy nanostructures are spontaneously formed, and the average size of bumps depends on the baking temperature. These structures are expected to lead to local field enhancement and then large nonlinear polarizations on the surface. The baked ink was irradiated by the output of regeneratively amplified Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser at an incidence angle of 45°. Waveforms of generated terahertz pulses are detected by electro-optical sampling. The generation efficiency was high when the average diameter of bumps was around 100 nm, which is realized when the ink is baked in 205 to 235°C in our setup. One of our next research targets is terahertz wave generation from micro-patterned metallic nanoparticle ink. It is an advantage of the metal nanoparticle ink that by using inkjet printers one can fabricate various patterns with micrometer scales, in which terahertz waves have a resonance. Combination of microstructures made by a printer and nanostructure spontaneously formed in the baking process will provide us terahertz emitters with unique frequency characteristics.

  6. Theory of the multiphoton cascade transitions with two photon links: comparison of quantum electrodynamical and quantum mechanical approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zalialiutdinov, T; Baukina, Yu; Solovyev, D; Labzowsky, L

    2014-01-01

    The theory of multiphoton cascade transitions with two-photon links is considered within two different approaches: quantum electrodynamical (QED) and phenomenological quantum mechanical (QM). A problem of regularization of the cascade contributions is investigated in detail. It is argued that the correct regularization should include both initial and intermediate level widths in the singular energy denominators. This result follows both from the QED and from the QM approach. Particular transitions nl → 1s + 2γ with nl = 3s, 4s, 3d, 4d and nl → 1s + 3γ with nl = 3p, 4p are considered as examples. The importance of the proper cascade regularization is also demonstrated. (paper)

  7. Comprehensive growth and characterization study on highly n-doped InGaAs as a contact layer for quantum cascade laser applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demir, Ilkay; Altuntas, Ismail; Bulut, Baris; Ezzedini, Maher; Ergun, Yuksel; Elagoz, Sezai

    2018-05-01

    We present growth and characterization studies of highly n-doped InGaAs epilayers on InP substrate by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy to use as an n-contact layer in quantum cascade laser applications. We have introduced quasi two-dimensional electrons between 10 s pulsed growth n-doped InGaAs epilayers to improve both carrier concentration and mobility of structure by applying pulsed growth and doping methods towards increasing the Si dopant concentration in InGaAs. Additionally, the V/III ratio optimization under fixed group III source flow has been investigated with this new method to understand the effects on both crystalline quality and electrical properties of n-InGaAs epilayers. Finally, we have obtained high crystalline quality of n-InGaAs epilayers grown by 10 s pulsed as a contact layer with 2.8 × 1019 cm‑3 carrier concentration and 1530 cm2 V‑1 s‑1 mobility.

  8. Squeezing terahertz light into nanovolumes: Nanoantenna enhanced terahertz spectroscopy (NETS) of semiconductor quantum dots

    KAUST Repository

    Toma, Andrea; Tuccio, Salvatore; Prato, Mirko; De Donato, Francesco; Perucchi, Andrea; Di Pietro, Paola; Marras, Sergio; Liberale, Carlo; Proietti Zaccaria, Remo; De Angelis, Francesco De; Manna, Liberato; Lupi, Stefano; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Razzari, Luca

    2015-01-01

    Terahertz spectroscopy has vast potentialities in sensing a broad range of elementary excitations (e.g., collective vibrations of molecules, phonons, excitons, etc.). However, the large wavelength associated with terahertz radiation (about 300 μm

  9. Rapid and Sensitive Quantification of Isotopic Mixtures Using a Rapidly-Swept External Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian E. Brumfield

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available A rapidly-swept external-cavity quantum cascade laser with an open-path Herriott cell is used to quantify gas-phase chemical mixtures of D2O and HDO at a rate of 40 Hz (25-ms measurement time. The chemical mixtures were generated by evaporating D2O liquid near the open-path Herriott cell, allowing the H/D exchange reaction with ambient H2O to produce HDO. Fluctuations in the ratio of D2O and HDO on timescales of <1 s due to the combined effects of plume transport and the H/D exchange chemical reaction are observed. Noise-equivalent concentrations (1σ (NEC of 147.0 ppbv and 151.6 ppbv in a 25-ms measurement time are determined for D2O and HDO, respectively, with a 127-m optical path. These NECs are improved to 23.0 and 24.0 ppbv with a 1-s averaging time for D2O and HDO, respectively. NECs <200 ppbv are also estimated for N2O, 1,1,1,2–tetrafluoroethane (F134A, CH4, acetone and SO2 for a 25-ms measurement time. The isotopic precision for measurement of the [D2O]/[HDO] concentration ratio of 33‰ and 5‰ is calculated for the current experimental conditions for measurement times of 25 ms and 1 s, respectively.

  10. Terahertz radiation generation by lasers with remarkable efficiency in electron–positron plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malik, Hitendra K.

    2015-01-01

    Photo-mixing of spatial-super-Gaussian lasers and electron–positron plasma are proposed for realizing a large amplitude nonlinear current in order to generate an efficient terahertz radiation. An external magnetic field together with a proper index of the lasers helps achieving controllable current and hence, the focused radiation of tunable frequency and power along with a remarkable efficiency of the scheme as ∼6%. - Highlights: • First proposal of photo-mixing of spatial-super-Gaussian (SSG) lasers in electron–positron (e–p) plasma. • Large amplitude nonlinear current due to the contribution of both the plasma species. • Magnetic field as an additional parameter for tunable THz radiation with a remarkable efficiency of ∼6%.

  11. Direct determination of glucose, lactate and triglycerides in blood serum by a tunable quantum cascade laser-based mid-IR sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandstetter, M.; Volgger, L.; Genner, A.; Jungbauer, C.; Lendl, B.

    2013-02-01

    This work reports on a compact sensor for fast and reagent-free point-of-care determination of glucose, lactate and triglycerides in blood serum based on a tunable (1030-1230 cm-1) external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL). For simple and robust operation a single beam set-up was designed and only thermoelectric cooling was used for the employed laser and detector. Full computer control of analysis including liquid handling and data analysis facilitated routine measurements. A high optical pathlength (>100 μm) is a prerequisite for robust measurements in clinical practice. Hence, the optimum optical pathlength for transmission measurements in aqueous solution was considered in theory and experiment. The experimentally determined maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was around 140 μm for the QCL blood sensor and around 50 μm for a standard FT-IR spectrometer employing a liquid nitrogen cooled mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector. A single absorption spectrum was used to calculate the analyte concentrations simultaneously by using a partial-least-squares (PLS) regression analysis. Glucose was determined in blood serum with a prediction error (RMSEP) of 6.9 mg/dl and triglycerides with an error of cross-validation (RMSECV) of 17.5 mg/dl in a set of 42 different patients. In spiked serum samples the lactate concentration could be determined with an RMSECV of 8.9 mg/dl.

  12. High speed, High resolution terahertz spectrometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Youngchan; Yee, Dae Su; Yi, Miwoo; Ahn, Jaewook

    2008-01-01

    A variety of sources and methods have been developed for terahertz spectroscopy during almost two decades. Terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz TDS)has attracted particular attention as a basic measurement method in the fields of THz science and technology. Recently, asynchronous optical sampling (AOS)THz TDS has been demonstrated, featuring rapid data acquisition and a high spectral resolution. Also, terahertz frequency comb spectroscopy (TFCS)possesses attractive features for high precision terahertz spectroscopy. In this presentation, we report on these two types of terahertz spectrometer. Our high speed, high resolution terahertz spectrometer is demonstrated using two mode locked femtosecond lasers with slightly different repetition frequencies without a mechanical delay stage. The repetition frequencies of the two femtosecond lasers are stabilized by use of two phase locked loops sharing the same reference oscillator. The time resolution of our terahertz spectrometer is measured using the cross correlation method to be 270 fs. AOS THz TDS is presented in Fig. 1, which shows a time domain waveform rapidly acquired on a 10ns time window. The inset shows a zoom into the signal with 100ps time window. The spectrum obtained by the fast Fourier Transformation (FFT)of the time domain waveform has a frequency resolution of 100MHz. The dependence of the signal to noise ratio (SNR)on the measurement time is also investigated

  13. High energy multi-cycle terahertz generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahr, Frederike Beate

    2017-10-01

    Development of compact electron accelerators and free-electron lasers requires novel acceleration schemes at shorter driving wavelengths. The Axsis project seeks to develop terahertz based electron acceleration as well as the high energy terahertz sources required. This thesis explores the methods and optical material required for the generation of highenergy multi-cycle terahertz pulses. Two experimental concepts to generate high energy terahertz radiation are presented. In addition the theoretical background and the optical properties of pertinent optical materials in the terahertz range are discussed. Investigations of the materials are performed with a terahertz time domain spectrometer and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The nonlinear optical crystal lithium niobate as well as other crystals suitable for the terahertz generation and in addition polymers and other radiation attenuators are characterized in the range from 0.2 to 1 THz. The theory describing the generation of narrowband terahertz radiation is evaluated. The experimental setups to generate terahertz radiation and to characterize its properties are described. The specific crystals - periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) - used in the experiments to generate the multi-cycle terahertz radiation are examined to determine e.g. the poling period. The first experimental concept splits the ultra fast, broadband pump pulses into a pulse train in order to pump the PPLN at a higher fluence while increasing the damage limit. The measurements confirm that a pulse train of ultra short, broadband pump pulses increases not only the terahertz energy but also the energy conversion efficiency. The second experimental concept utilizes chirped and delayed infrared laser pulses. This pulse format makes it possible to pump the crystal with high energy pulses resulting in high energy terahertz radiation. The concept is optimized to reach energies up to 127 μJ exceeding the existing results of narrowband

  14. High energy multi-cycle terahertz generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahr, Frederike Beate

    2017-10-15

    Development of compact electron accelerators and free-electron lasers requires novel acceleration schemes at shorter driving wavelengths. The Axsis project seeks to develop terahertz based electron acceleration as well as the high energy terahertz sources required. This thesis explores the methods and optical material required for the generation of highenergy multi-cycle terahertz pulses. Two experimental concepts to generate high energy terahertz radiation are presented. In addition the theoretical background and the optical properties of pertinent optical materials in the terahertz range are discussed. Investigations of the materials are performed with a terahertz time domain spectrometer and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The nonlinear optical crystal lithium niobate as well as other crystals suitable for the terahertz generation and in addition polymers and other radiation attenuators are characterized in the range from 0.2 to 1 THz. The theory describing the generation of narrowband terahertz radiation is evaluated. The experimental setups to generate terahertz radiation and to characterize its properties are described. The specific crystals - periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) - used in the experiments to generate the multi-cycle terahertz radiation are examined to determine e.g. the poling period. The first experimental concept splits the ultra fast, broadband pump pulses into a pulse train in order to pump the PPLN at a higher fluence while increasing the damage limit. The measurements confirm that a pulse train of ultra short, broadband pump pulses increases not only the terahertz energy but also the energy conversion efficiency. The second experimental concept utilizes chirped and delayed infrared laser pulses. This pulse format makes it possible to pump the crystal with high energy pulses resulting in high energy terahertz radiation. The concept is optimized to reach energies up to 127 μJ exceeding the existing results of narrowband

  15. Multiple purpose research complex on the basis of electron accelerators and terahertz free electron laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulipanov, G.N.

    2009-01-01

    In this report the basic positioning parameters of multiple purpose research complex are presented, the list of potential experiments and technological uses on the example of results received in the multiuser center of G.I. Budker Institut of nuclear physics Siberian department of the Russian Academy of Sciences is discussed. This research complex is directed on work in the big universities and nano technology centers. Electron accelerators is intended for development of electron-beam technologies different material modification, for production of nano powder, nano materials and solution of ecological tasks. In this work the project of multiple purpose research complex on the basis of new generation electron accelerator Il-14 and workable terahertz free electron laser is suggested. Terahertz free electron laser will be used for researches in the sphere of physics and chemistry, biology and medicine, nanotechnology engineering and different methods of nanodiagnostics.

  16. Microring Diode Laser for THz Generation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mariani, S.; Andronico, A.; Favero, I.

    2013-01-01

    We report on the modeling and optical characterization of AlGaAs/InAs quantum-dot microring diode lasers designed for terahertz (THz) difference frequency generation (DFG) between two whispering gallery modes (WGMs) around 1.3 $\\mu$m. In order to investigate the spectral features of this active...

  17. Multimode analysis of highly tunable, quantum cascade powered, circular graphene spaser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jayasekara, Charith, E-mail: charith.jayasekara@monash.edu; Premaratne, Malin [Advanced Computing and Simulation Laboratory (A chi L), Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Stockman, Mark I. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (United States); Gunapala, Sarath D. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109 (United States)

    2015-11-07

    We carried out a detailed analysis of a circular graphene spaser made of a circular graphene flake and a quantum cascade well structure. Owing to unique properties of graphene and quantum cascade well structure, the proposed design shows high mechanical and thermal stability and low optical losses. Additionally, operation characteristics of the model are analysed and tunability of the device is demonstrated. Some advantages of the proposed design include compact size, lower power operation, and the ability to set the operating wavelength over a wide range from Mid-IR to Near-IR. Thus, it can have wide spread applications including designing of ultracompact and ultrafast devices, nanoscopy and biomedical applications.

  18. Atomic-cascade photons and quantum-mechanical nonlocality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bell, J.S.

    1995-01-01

    In recent years there have been several experiments on polarization correlation between photons emitted in atomic cascades. They are supposed to bear on the notion that the consequences of events do not propagate faster than light. This notion is difficult to reconcile with quantum-mechanical predictions for idealized versions of the experiments in question. The present Comment offers a brief introduction to the situation. (author)

  19. Experimental characterization of quantum correlated triple beams generated by cascaded four-wave mixing processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Zhongzhong; Cao, Leiming; Jing, Jietai

    2015-05-01

    Quantum correlations and entanglement shared among multiple modes are fundamental ingredients of most continuous-variable quantum technologies. Recently, a method used to generate multiple quantum correlated beams using cascaded four-wave mixing (FWM) processes was theoretically proposed and experimentally realized by our group [Z. Qin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 023602 (2014)]. Our study of triple-beam quantum correlation paves the way to showing the tripartite entanglement in our system. Our system also promises to find applications in quantum information and precision measurement such as the controlled quantum communications, the generation of multiple quantum correlated images, and the realization of a multiport nonlinear interferometer. For its applications, the degree of quantum correlation is a crucial figure of merit. In this letter, we experimentally study how various parameters, such as the cell temperatures, one-photon, and two-photon detunings, influence the degree of quantum correlation between the triple beams generated from the cascaded two-FWM configuration.

  20. Continuous-wave terahertz light from optical parametric oscillators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sowade, Rosita

    2010-12-15

    Continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are working horses for spectroscopy in the near and mid infrared. However, in the terahertz frequency range (0.1 to 10 THz), the pump threshold is more than 100 W due to the high absorption in nonlinear crystals and thus exceeds the power of standard cw single-frequency pump sources. In this thesis the first cw OPO capable of generating terahertz radiation is demonstrated. To overcome the high threshold, the signal wave of a primary infrared process is resonantly enhanced to serve as the pump wave for a cascaded parametric process with one wave being at the terahertz frequency level. A terahertz output power of more than two microwatts is measured and tuning is achieved from 1.3 to 1.7 THz. This terahertz source emits a narrow-band, diffraction-limited beam which remains mode-hop free over more than one hour. Such a device inhibits high potential for applications in areas like astronomy, telecommunications or high-resolution spectroscopy. (orig.)

  1. Continuous-wave terahertz light from optical parametric oscillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sowade, Rosita

    2010-12-01

    Continuous-wave (cw) optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are working horses for spectroscopy in the near and mid infrared. However, in the terahertz frequency range (0.1 to 10 THz), the pump threshold is more than 100 W due to the high absorption in nonlinear crystals and thus exceeds the power of standard cw single-frequency pump sources. In this thesis the first cw OPO capable of generating terahertz radiation is demonstrated. To overcome the high threshold, the signal wave of a primary infrared process is resonantly enhanced to serve as the pump wave for a cascaded parametric process with one wave being at the terahertz frequency level. A terahertz output power of more than two microwatts is measured and tuning is achieved from 1.3 to 1.7 THz. This terahertz source emits a narrow-band, diffraction-limited beam which remains mode-hop free over more than one hour. Such a device inhibits high potential for applications in areas like astronomy, telecommunications or high-resolution spectroscopy. (orig.)

  2. Terahertz Spectroscopy and Imaging

    CERN Document Server

    Zeitler, Axel; Kuwata-Gonokami, Makoto

    2013-01-01

    "This book presents the current state of knowledge in the field of terahertz spectroscopy, providing a comprehensive source of information for beginners and experienced researchers alike whose interests lie in this area. The book aims to explain the fundamental physics that underpins terahertz  technology and to describe its key applications. Highlights of scientific research in the field of terahertz science are also outlined in some chapters, providing an overview as well as giving an insight into future directions for research.  Over the past decade terahertz spectroscopy has developed into one of the most rapidly growing areas of its kind, gaining an important impact across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Due to substantial advances in femtosecond laser technology, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) has established itself as the dominant spectroscopic technique for experimental scientists interested in measurements at this frequency range. In solids and liquids THz radiation is in reso...

  3. Suitability of quantum cascade laser spectroscopy for CH4 and N2O eddy covariance flux measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. T. Vermeulen

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available A quantum cascade laser spectrometer was evaluated for eddy covariance flux measurements of CH4 and N2O using three months of continuous measurements at a field site. The required criteria for eddy covariance flux measurements including continuity, sampling frequency, precision and stationarity were examined. The system operated continuously at a dairy farm on peat grassland in the Netherlands from 17 August to 6 November 2006. An automatic liquid nitrogen filling system for the infrared detector was employed to provide unattended operation of the system. The electronic sampling frequency was 10 Hz, however, the flow response time was 0.08 s, which corresponds to a bandwidth of 2 Hz. A precision of 2.9 and 0.5 ppb Hz−1/2 was obtained for CH4 and N2O, respectively. Accuracy was assured by frequent calibrations using low and high standard additions. Drifts in the system were compensated by using a 120 s running mean filter. The average CH4 and N2O exchange was 512 ngC m−2 s−1 (2.46 mg m−2 hr−1 and 52 ngN m−2 s−1 (0.29 mg m−2 hr−1. Given that 40% of the total N2O emission was due to a fertilizing event.

  4. A simple system for 160GHz optical terahertz wave generation and data modulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yihan; He, Jingsuo; Sun, Xueming; Shi, Zexia; Wang, Ruike; Cui, Hailin; Su, Bo; Zhang, Cunlin

    2018-01-01

    A simple system based on two cascaded Mach-Zehnder modulators, which can generate 160GHz optical terahertz waves from 40GHz microwave sources, is simulated and tested in this paper. Fiber grating filter is used in the system to filter out optical carrier. By properly adjusting the modulator DC bias voltages and the signal voltages and phases, 4-tupling optical terahertz wave can be generated with fiber grating. This notch fiber grating filter is greatly suitable for terahertz over fiber (TOF) communication system. This scheme greatly reduces the cost of long-distance terahertz communication. Furthermore, 10Gbps digital signal is modulated in the 160GHz optical terahertz wave.

  5. Measurements of linestrengths, N2-, Ar-, He- and self-broadening coefficients of acetylene in the ν4+ν5 combination band using a cw quantum cascade laser

    KAUST Repository

    Sajid, Muhammad Bilal

    2014-11-01

    Linestrengths, N2-, Ar-, He- and self-broadening coefficients of acetylene have been measured at 296K in the P branch of the ν4+ν5 combination band for 25 rotational transitions. The effect of gas temperature is studied over 296-683K for five transitions to allow the determination of the temperature dependent exponent n for N2- and Ar-broadening coefficients. These measurements were performed using a continuous-wave quantum cascade laser (cw-QCL) operating over 1253-1310cm-1. Spectroscopic parameters were obtained by fitting absorption spectra using Voigt, Galatry and Rautian profiles. Linestrength and broadening results are compared with previous studies available in literature for the ν4+ν5 combination band and other vibrational bands of acetylene. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

  6. Adaptive sampling dual terahertz comb spectroscopy using dual free-running femtosecond lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasui, Takeshi; Ichikawa, Ryuji; Hsieh, Yi-Da; Hayashi, Kenta; Cahyadi, Harsono; Hindle, Francis; Sakaguchi, Yoshiyuki; Iwata, Tetsuo; Mizutani, Yasuhiro; Yamamoto, Hirotsugu; Minoshima, Kaoru; Inaba, Hajime

    2015-06-02

    Terahertz (THz) dual comb spectroscopy (DCS) is a promising method for high-accuracy, high-resolution, broadband THz spectroscopy because the mode-resolved THz comb spectrum includes both broadband THz radiation and narrow-line CW-THz radiation characteristics. In addition, all frequency modes of a THz comb can be phase-locked to a microwave frequency standard, providing excellent traceability. However, the need for stabilization of dual femtosecond lasers has often hindered its wide use. To overcome this limitation, here we have demonstrated adaptive-sampling THz-DCS, allowing the use of free-running femtosecond lasers. To correct the fluctuation of the time and frequency scales caused by the laser timing jitter, an adaptive sampling clock is generated by dual THz-comb-referenced spectrum analysers and is used for a timing clock signal in a data acquisition board. The results not only indicated the successful implementation of THz-DCS with free-running lasers but also showed that this configuration outperforms standard THz-DCS with stabilized lasers due to the slight jitter remained in the stabilized lasers.

  7. Terahertz optoelectronics in graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otsuji, Taiichi

    2016-01-01

    Graphene has attracted considerable attention due to its extraordinary carrier transport, optoelectronic, and plasmonic properties originated from its gapless and linear energy spectra enabling various functionalities with extremely high quantum efficiencies that could never be obtained in any existing materials. This paper reviews recent advances in graphene optoelectronics particularly focused on the physics and device functionalities in the terahertz (THz) electromagnetic spectral range. Optical response of graphene is characterized by its optical conductivity and nonequilibrium carrier energy relaxation dynamics, enabling amplification of THz radiation when it is optically or electrically pumped. Current-injection THz lasing has been realized very recently. Graphene plasmon polaritons can greatly enhance the THz light and graphene matter interaction, enabling giant enhancement in detector responsivity as well as amplifier/laser gain. Graphene-based van der Waals heterostructures could give more interesting and energy-efficient functionalities. (author)

  8. Eddy covariance carbonyl sulfide flux measurements with a quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Gerdel

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The trace gas carbonyl sulfide (COS has lately received growing interest from the eddy covariance (EC community due to its potential to serve as an independent approach for constraining gross primary production and canopy stomatal conductance. Thanks to recent developments of fast-response high-precision trace gas analysers (e.g. quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometers, QCLAS, a handful of EC COS flux measurements have been published since 2013. To date, however, a thorough methodological characterisation of QCLAS with regard to the requirements of the EC technique and the necessary processing steps has not been conducted. The objective of this study is to present a detailed characterisation of the COS measurement with the Aerodyne QCLAS in the context of the EC technique and to recommend best EC processing practices for those measurements. Data were collected from May to October 2015 at a temperate mountain grassland in Tyrol, Austria. Analysis of the Allan variance of high-frequency concentration measurements revealed the occurrence of sensor drift under field conditions after an averaging time of around 50 s. We thus explored the use of two high-pass filtering approaches (linear detrending and recursive filtering as opposed to block averaging and linear interpolation of regular background measurements for covariance computation. Experimental low-pass filtering correction factors were derived from a detailed cospectral analysis. The CO2 and H2O flux measurements obtained with the QCLAS were compared with those obtained with a closed-path infrared gas analyser. Overall, our results suggest small, but systematic differences between the various high-pass filtering scenarios with regard to the fraction of data retained in the quality control and flux magnitudes. When COS and CO2 fluxes are combined in the ecosystem relative uptake rate, systematic differences between the high-pass filtering scenarios largely cancel out, suggesting that

  9. Eddy covariance carbonyl sulphide flux measurements with a quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerdel, Katharina; Spielmann, Felix Maximilian; Hammerle, Albin; Wohlfahrt, Georg

    2017-09-26

    The trace gas carbonyl sulphide (COS) has lately received growing interest in the eddy covariance (EC) community due to its potential to serve as an independent approach for constraining gross primary production and canopy stomatal conductance. Thanks to recent developments of fast-response high-precision trace gas analysers (e.g. quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometers (QCLAS)), a handful of EC COS flux measurements have been published since 2013. To date, however, a thorough methodological characterisation of QCLAS with regard to the requirements of the EC technique and the necessary processing steps has not been conducted. The objective of this study is to present a detailed characterization of the COS measurement with the Aerodyne QCLAS in the context of the EC technique, and to recommend best EC processing practices for those measurements. Data were collected from May to October 2015 at a temperate mountain grassland in Tyrol, Austria. Analysis of the Allan variance of high-frequency concentration measurements revealed sensor drift to occur under field conditions after an averaging time of around 50 s. We thus explored the use of two high-pass filtering approaches (linear detrending and recursive filtering) as opposed to block averaging and linear interpolation of regular background measurements for covariance computation. Experimental low-pass filtering correction factors were derived from a detailed cospectral analysis. The CO 2 and H 2 O flux measurements obtained with the QCLAS were compared against those obtained with a closed-path infrared gas analyser. Overall, our results suggest small, but systematic differences between the various high-pass filtering scenarios with regard to the fraction of data retained in the quality control and flux magnitudes. When COS and CO 2 fluxes are combined in the so-called ecosystem relative uptake rate, systematic differences between the high-pass filtering scenarios largely cancel out, suggesting that this

  10. High-resolution broadband terahertz spectroscopy via electronic heterodyne detection of photonically generated terahertz frequency comb.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavelyev, D G; Skryl, A S; Bakunov, M I

    2014-10-01

    We report an alternative approach to the terahertz frequency-comb spectroscopy (TFCS) based on nonlinear mixing of a photonically generated terahertz pulse train with a continuous wave signal from an electronic synthesizer. A superlattice is used as a nonlinear mixer. Unlike the standard TFCS technique, this approach does not require a complex double-laser system but retains the advantages of TFCS-high spectral resolution and wide bandwidth.

  11. MATLAB-based program for optimization of quantum cascade laser active region parameters and calculation of output characteristics in magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smiljanić, J.; Žeželj, M.; Milanović, V.; Radovanović, J.; Stanković, I.

    2014-03-01

    A strong magnetic field applied along the growth direction of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) active region gives rise to a spectrum of discrete energy states, the Landau levels. By combining quantum engineering of a QCL with a static magnetic field, we can selectively inhibit/enhance non-radiative electron relaxation process between the relevant Landau levels of a triple quantum well and realize a tunable surface emitting device. An efficient numerical algorithm implementation is presented of optimization of GaAs/AlGaAs QCL region parameters and calculation of output properties in the magnetic field. Both theoretical analysis and MATLAB implementation are given for LO-phonon and interface roughness scattering mechanisms on the operation of QCL. At elevated temperatures, electrons in the relevant laser states absorb/emit more LO-phonons which results in reduction of the optical gain. The decrease in the optical gain is moderated by the occurrence of interface roughness scattering, which remains unchanged with increasing temperature. Using the calculated scattering rates as input data, rate equations can be solved and population inversion and the optical gain obtained. Incorporation of the interface roughness scattering mechanism into the model did not create new resonant peaks of the optical gain. However, it resulted in shifting the existing peaks positions and overall reduction of the optical gain. Catalogue identifier: AERL_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AERL_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 37763 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 2757956 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: MATLAB. Computer: Any capable of running MATLAB version R2010a or higher. Operating system: Any platform

  12. Wireless Data Transmission at Terahertz Carrier Waves Generated from a Hybrid InP-Polymer Dual Tunable DBR Laser Photonic Integrated Circuit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpintero, Guillermo; Hisatake, Shintaro; de Felipe, David; Guzman, Robinson; Nagatsuma, Tadao; Keil, Norbert

    2018-02-14

    We report for the first time the successful wavelength stabilization of two hybrid integrated InP/Polymer DBR lasers through optical injection. The two InP/Polymer DBR lasers are integrated into a photonic integrated circuit, providing an ideal source for millimeter and Terahertz wave generation by optical heterodyne technique. These lasers offer the widest tuning range of the carrier wave demonstrated to date up into the Terahertz range, about 20 nm (2.5 THz) on a single photonic integrated circuit. We demonstrate the application of this source to generate a carrier wave at 330 GHz to establish a wireless data transmission link at a data rate up to 18 Gbit/s. Using a coherent detection scheme we increase the sensitivity by more than 10 dB over direct detection.

  13. Ammonia detection using hollow waveguide enhanced laser absorption spectroscopy based on a 9.56 μm quantum cascade laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinyi; Yang, Sen; Wang, Ruixue; Du, Zhenhui; Wei, Yingying

    2017-10-01

    Ammonia (NH3) is the most abundant alkalescency trace gas in the atmosphere having a foul odor, which is produced by both natural and anthropogenic sources. Chinese Emission Standard for Odor Pollutants has listed NH3 as one of the eight malodorous pollutants since 1993, specifying the emission concentration less than 1 mg/m3 (1.44ppmv). NH3 detection continuously from ppb to ppm levels is significant for protection of environmental atmosphere and safety of industrial and agricultural production. Tunable laser absorption spectroscopy (TLAS) is an increasingly important optical method for trace gas detection. TLAS do not require pretreatment and accumulation of the concentration of the analyzed sample, unlike, for example, more conventional methods such as mass spectrometry or gas chromatography. In addition, TLAS can provide high precision remote sensing capabilities, high sensitivities and fast response. Hollow waveguide (HWG) has recently emerged as a novel concept serving as an efficient optical waveguide and as a highly miniaturized gas cell. Among the main advantages of HWG gas cell compared with conventional multi-pass gas cells is the considerably decreased sample which facilitates gas exchanging. An ammonia sensor based on TLAS using a 5m HWG as the gas cell is report here. A 9.56μm, continuous-wave, distributed feed-back (DFB), room temperature quantum cascade laser (QCL), is employed as the optical source. The interference-free NH3 absorption line located at 1046.4cm-1 (λ 9556.6nm) is selected for detection by analyzing absorption spectrum from 1045-1047 cm-1 within the ν2 fundamental absorption band of ammonia. Direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS) technique is utilized and the measured spectral line is fitted by a simulation model by HITRAN database to obtain the NH3 concentration. The sensor performance is tested with standard gas and the result shows a 1σ minimum detectable concentration of ammonia is about 200 ppb with 1 sec time resolution

  14. Ultrafast release and capture of carriers in InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots observed by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Porte, Henrik; Jepsen, Peter Uhd; Daghestani, N.

    2009-01-01

    We observe ultrafast release and capture of charge carriers in InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots in a room-temperature optical pump-terahertz probe experiment sensitive to the population dynamics of conducting states. In case of resonant excitation of the quantum dot ground state, the maximum conductivity...... is achieved at approximately 35 ps after photoexcitation, which is assigned to release of carriers from the quantum dots. When exciting carriers into the conduction band of the barriers, depletion of the conductivity via carrier capture into the quantum dots with a few picosecond pump fluence-dependent time...

  15. Numerical simulation of terahertz generation and detection based on ultrafast photoconductive antennas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Long-chao; Fan, Wen-hui

    2011-08-01

    The numerical simulation of terahertz generation and detection in the interaction between femtosecond laser pulse and photoconductive material has been reported in this paper. The simulation model based on the Drude-Lorentz theory is used, and takes into account the phenomena that photo-generated electrons and holes are separated by the external bias field, which is screened by the space-charge field simultaneously. According to the numerical calculation, the terahertz time-domain waveforms and their Fourier-transformed spectra are presented under different conditions. The simulation results indicate that terahertz generation and detection properties of photoconductive antennas are largely influenced by three major factors, including photo-carriers' lifetime, laser pulse width and pump laser power. Finally, a simple model has been applied to simulate the detected terahertz pulses by photoconductive antennas with various photo-carriers' lifetimes, and the results show that the detected terahertz spectra are very different from the spectra radiated from the emitter.

  16. Modeling of terahertz radiation emission from a free-electron laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Suresh C.; Panwar, Jyotsna; Sharma, Rinku [Department of Applied Physics, Delhi Technological University, Delhi (India)

    2017-05-15

    In this article, we report the generation of terahertz (THz) radiation using the interaction of a laser-modulated relativistic electron beam (REB) with a surface plasma wave. Two laser beams propagating through the modulator interact with the REB, leading to velocity modulation of the beam. This results in pre-bunching of the REB. The pre-bunched beam travels through the drift space, where the velocity modulation translates into density modulation. The density-modulated beam, on interacting with the surface plasma pump wave, acquires an oscillatory velocity that couples with the modulated beam density to give rise to a nonlinear current density which acts as an antenna to give THz radiation. By optimizing the parameters of the beam and the wiggler, we obtain power of the order of 10{sup -4} using the current scheme. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  17. High-power dual-wavelength external-Cavity diode laser based on tapered amplifier with tunable terahertz frequency difference

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chi, Mingjun; Jensen, Ole Bjarlin; Petersen, Paul Michael

    2011-01-01

    Tunable dual-wavelength operation of a diode laser system based on a tapered diode amplifier with double-Littrow external-cavity feedback is demonstrated around 800nm. The two wavelengths can be tuned individually, and the frequency difference of the two wavelengths is tunable from 0.5 to 5:0 THz......, this is the highest output power from a dual-wavelength diode laser system operating with tunable terahertz frequency difference. © 2011 Optical Society of America....

  18. Processing Interband Cascade Laser for High Temperature CW Operation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Tober, Richard

    2004-01-01

    A narrow ridge-waveguide mid-IR interband cascade laser based on Type-II InAs/GaInSh heterostructures processed with a thick gold heat spreading layer operated CW at temperatures ranging from 80 K to 214.4 K...

  19. Mode-locked thin-disk lasers and their potential application for high-power terahertz generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saraceno, Clara J.

    2018-04-01

    The progress achieved in the last few decades in the performance of ultrafast laser systems with high average power has been tremendous, and continues to provide momentum to new exciting applications, both in scientific research and technology. Among the various technological advances that have shaped this progress, mode-locked thin-disk oscillators have attracted significant attention as a unique technology capable of providing ultrashort pulses with high energy (tens to hundreds of microjoules) and at very high repetition rates (in the megahertz regime) from a single table-top oscillator. This technology opens the door to compact high repetition rate ultrafast sources spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the XUV to the terahertz regime, opening various new application fields. In this article, we focus on their unexplored potential as compact driving sources for high average power terahertz generation.

  20. Dynamic localization and negative absolute conductance in terahertz driven semiconductor superlattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keay, B.J.; Allen, S.J.; Campman, K.L.

    1995-01-01

    We report the first observation of Negative Absolute Conductance (NAC), dynamic localization and multiphoton stimulated emission assisted tunneling in terahertz driven semiconductor superlattices. Theories predicting NAC in semiconductor superlattices subjected to AC electric fields have existed for twenty years, but have never been verified experimentally. Most theories are based upon semiclassical arguments and are only valid for superlattices in the miniband or coherent tunneling regime. We are not aware of models predicting NAC in superlattices in the sequential tunneling regime, although there has been recent theoretical work on double-barrier structures. Perhaps the most remarkable result is found in the power dependence of the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics near zero DC bias. As the laser power is increased the current decreases towards zero and then becomes negative. This result implies that the electrons are absorbing energy from the laser field, producing a net current in the direction opposite to the applied voltage. NAC around zero DC bias is a particularly surprising observation considering photon-assisted tunneling is not expected to be observable between the ground states of neighboring quantum wells in a semiconductor superlattice. Contrary to this believe our results are most readily attributable to photon absorption and multiphoton emission between ground states of neighboring wells. The I-V characteristics measured in the presence of terahertz radiation at low DC bias also contain steps and plateaus analogous to photon-assisted steps observed in superconducting junctions. As many as three steps have been clearly resolved corresponding to stimulated emission into the terahertz field by a three-photon process

  1. Nanoscale Terahertz Emission Spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Pernille Klarskov; Kim, Hyewon; Colvin, Vicki L.

    By utilizing plasmonic coupling to an AFM probe, we demonstrate Laser Terahertz Emission Nanoscopy (LTEN) with sub-20 nm resolution. We demonstrate the resolution by imaging a single gold nanorod on an InAs substrate....

  2. Diagnostic studies of molecular plasmas using mid-infrared semiconductor lasers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Röpcke, J.; Welzel, S.; Lang, N.; Hempel, F.; Gatilova, L.; Guaitella, O.; Rousseau, A.; Davies, P.B.

    2008-01-01

    Within the last decade mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy between 3 and 20 µm, known as infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (IRLAS) and based on tuneable semiconductor lasers, namely lead salt diode lasers, often called tuneable diode lasers (TDL), and quantum cascade lasers (QCL) has

  3. Direct phase-locking of a 8.6-μm quantum cascade laser to a mid-IR optical frequency comb: application to precision spectroscopy of N2O.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gambetta, Alessio; Cassinerio, Marco; Coluccelli, Nicola; Fasci, Eugenio; Castrillo, Antonio; Gianfrani, Livio; Gatti, Davide; Marangoni, Marco; Laporta, Paolo; Galzerano, Gianluca

    2015-02-01

    We developed a high-precision spectroscopic system at 8.6 μm based on direct heterodyne detection and phase-locking of a room-temperature quantum-cascade-laser against an harmonic, 250-MHz mid-IR frequency comb obtained by difference-frequency generation. The ∼30  dB signal-to-noise ratio of the detected beat-note together with the achieved closed-loop locking bandwidth of ∼500  kHz allows for a residual integrated phase noise of 0.78 rad (1 Hz-5 MHz), for an ultimate resolution of ∼21  kHz, limited by the measured linewidth of the mid-IR comb. The system was used to perform absolute measurement of line-center frequencies for the rotational components of the ν2 vibrational band of N2O, with a relative precision of 3×10(-10).

  4. The development and evaluation of airborne in situ N2O and CH4 sampling using a Quantum Cascade Laser Absorption Spectrometer (QCLAS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitt, Joseph; Le Breton, Michael; Allen, Grant; Percival, Carl; Gallagher, Martin; Bauguitte, Stephane; O'Shea, Sebastian; Muller, Jennifer; Zahniser, Mark; Pyle, John; Palmer, Paul

    2016-04-01

    Spectroscopic measurements of atmospheric N2O and CH4 mole fractions were made on board the FAAM (Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements) large Atmospheric Research Aircraft. We evaluate the performance of the mid-IR continuous wave Aerodyne Research Inc. Quantum Cascade Laser Absorption Spectrometer (QCLAS) employed over 17 flights conducted during summer 2014. Two different methods of correcting for the influence of water vapour on the spectroscopic retrievals are compared and evaluated. Test flight data demonstrating the sensitivity of the instrument to changes in cabin pressure is presented, and a new in-flight calibration procedure to account for this issue is described and assessed. Total 1σ uncertainties of 1.81 ppb for CH4 and 0.35 ppb for N2O are derived. We report a mean difference in 1 Hz CH4 mole fraction of 2.05 ppb (1σ = 5.85 ppb) between in-flight measurements made using the QCLAS and simultaneous measurements using a previously characterised Los Gatos Research Fast Greenhouse Gas Analyser (FGGA).

  5. Terahertz spoof surface-plasmon-polariton subwavelength waveguide

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Ying; Xu, Yuehong; Tian, Chunxiu; Xu, Quan; Zhang, Xueqian; Li, Yanfeng; Zhang, Xixiang; Han, Jiaguang; Zhang, Weili

    2017-01-01

    Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) with the features of subwavelength confinement and strong enhancements have sparked enormous interest. However, in the terahertz regime, due to the perfect conductivities of most metals, it is hard to realize the strong confinement of SPPs, even though the propagation loss could be sufficiently low. One main approach to circumvent this problem is to exploit spoof SPPs, which are expected to exhibit useful subwavelength confinement and relative low propagation loss at terahertz frequencies. Here we report the design, fabrication, and characterization of terahertz spoof SPP waveguides based on corrugated metal surfaces. The various waveguide components, including a straight waveguide, an S-bend waveguide, a Y-splitter, and a directional coupler, were experimentally demonstrated using scanning near-field terahertz microscopy. The proposed waveguide indeed enables propagation, bending, splitting, and coupling of terahertz SPPs and thus paves a new way for the development of flexible and compact plasmonic circuits operating at terahertz frequencies. (C) 2017 Chinese Laser Press

  6. Terahertz spoof surface-plasmon-polariton subwavelength waveguide

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Ying

    2017-12-11

    Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) with the features of subwavelength confinement and strong enhancements have sparked enormous interest. However, in the terahertz regime, due to the perfect conductivities of most metals, it is hard to realize the strong confinement of SPPs, even though the propagation loss could be sufficiently low. One main approach to circumvent this problem is to exploit spoof SPPs, which are expected to exhibit useful subwavelength confinement and relative low propagation loss at terahertz frequencies. Here we report the design, fabrication, and characterization of terahertz spoof SPP waveguides based on corrugated metal surfaces. The various waveguide components, including a straight waveguide, an S-bend waveguide, a Y-splitter, and a directional coupler, were experimentally demonstrated using scanning near-field terahertz microscopy. The proposed waveguide indeed enables propagation, bending, splitting, and coupling of terahertz SPPs and thus paves a new way for the development of flexible and compact plasmonic circuits operating at terahertz frequencies. (C) 2017 Chinese Laser Press

  7. Voltage tunable two-band MIR detection based on Si/SiGe quantum cascade injector structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grydlik, M.; Rauter, P.; Meduna, M.; Fromherz, T.; Bauer, G.; Falub, C.; Dehlinger, G.; Sigg, H.; Gruetzmacher, D.

    2004-01-01

    We report the results of photocurrent spectroscopy in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region performed on p-type Si/SiGe cascade structures. The samples were grown by MBE and consist of a series of five SiGe quantum wells with ground states that can be coupled through thin Si barriers by aligning them in energy with an externally applied electric field E bi . Quantum wells and barriers are Boron doped to a level of 2.5 10 17 cm -3 . Our samples contain 10 sequences of the 5 quantum wells separated by 500 nm thick, undoped Si barriers. Vertical photocurrent spectroscopy has been performed for various electric fields applied perpendicular to the quantum wells at temperatures between 10 K and 100 K. Depending on the direction of the externally applied electric field relative to E bi , the photoresponse of our samples can be switched between two MIR detection bands with maxima at 230 meV and 400 meV. Due to the inversion asymmetry of the samples, at 0 V external voltage the samples deliver a short circuit current in the high-energy spectral band. Since the quantum cascades are formed in the valence band of the Si/SiGe structures, the quantum well transitions responsible for the observed photocurrents are allowed for radiation polarized parallel to the quantum wells. Therefore, these structures appear to be suitable for voltage tuneable MIR detection under normal incident radiation. By comparing the experimental results to model calculations, design strategies to optimize the responsivity of the Si/SiGe cascade structures are discussed. (author)

  8. Terahertz emission from CdHgTe/HgTe quantum wells with an inverted band structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vasilyev, Yu. B., E-mail: Yu.Vasilyev@mail.ioffe.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physical–Technical Institute (Russian Federation); Mikhailov, N. N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch (Russian Federation); Vasilyeva, G. Yu.; Ivánov, Yu. L.; Zakhar’in, A. O.; Andrianov, A. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Ioffe Physical–Technical Institute (Russian Federation); Vorobiev, L. E.; Firsov, D. A. [Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University (Russian Federation); Grigoriev, M. N. [Ustinov Baltic State Technical University “VOENMEKh” (Russian Federation); Antonov, A. V.; Ikonnikov, A. V.; Gavrilenko, V. I. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation)

    2016-07-15

    The terahertz electroluminescence from Cd{sub 0.7}Hg{sub 0.3}Te/HgTe quantum wells with an inverted band structure in lateral electric fields is experimentally detected and studied. The emission-spectrum maximum for wells 6.5 and 7 nm wide is near 6 meV which corresponds to interband optical transitions. The emission is explained by state depletion in the valence band and conduction band filling due to Zener tunneling, which is confirmed by power-law current–voltage characteristics.

  9. Coherent dynamics and terahertz emission in an asymmetric quantum well coupled to broadband infrared pulses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, B H; Cao, J C

    2004-01-01

    A selected intersubband transition in the asymmetric quantum well is theoretically proposed by using the superposition of two identical time delayed and phase shifted broadband pulses. Three conduction subbands in the semiconductor quantum well structure are optically coupled with the ultrafast infrared pulses. By adjusting the delay between these two pulses, the carriers at ground level can be selectively pumped to one of the upper levels, while the other upper level remains unoccupied. Thus selective transitions in the three level model can be manipulated by optical interference. At the same time, terahertz radiation will be emitted by coherent controlled charge oscillations. The phase and amplitude of THz radiation is found to be sensitive to the optical interference of the coupling pulses

  10. Terahertz generation via laser coupling to anharmonic carbon nanotube array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Soni; Vijay, A.

    2018-02-01

    A scheme of terahertz radiation generation employing a matrix of anharmonic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded in silica is proposed. The matrix is irradiated by two collinear laser beams that induce large excursions on CNT electrons and exert a nonlinear force at the beat frequency ω = ω1-ω2. The force derives a nonlinear current producing THz radiation. The THz field is resonantly enhanced at the plasmon resource, ω = ω p ( 1 + β ) / √{ 2 } , where ωp is the plasma frequency and β is a characteristic parameter. Collisions are a limiting factor, suppressing the plasmon resonance. For typical values of plasma parameters, we obtain power conversion efficiency of the order of 10-6.

  11. Kinetic and diagnostic studies of molecular plasmas using laser absorption techniques

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Welzel, S.; Rousseau, A.; Davies, P.B.; Röpcke, J.

    2007-01-01

    Within the last decade mid infrared absorption spectroscopy between 3 and 20 µm, known as Infrared Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (IRLAS) and based on tuneable semiconductor lasers, namely lead salt diode lasers, often called tuneable diode lasers (TDL), and quantum cascade lasers (QCL) has

  12. Exploring Broad Area Quantum Cascade Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    Strong current spreading: Trenches etched deeper than the active region. Minimal current spreading: Laser cavity defined by the electrical contact ...refractive index Θ: the angle measured within the cavity. x θ High-Order Transverse Modes 7 Approved for public release. Distribution is...through image. 10 Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 -50-40-30-20-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 Angle (degrees) De vic e

  13. Intersubband spectroscopy of ZnO/ZnMgO quantum wells grown on m-plane ZnO substrates for quantum cascade device applications (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quach, Patrick; Jollivet, Arnaud; Isac, Nathalie; Bousseksou, Adel; Ariel, Frédéric; Tchernycheva, Maria; Julien, François H.; Montes Bajo, Miguel; Tamayo-Arriola, Julen; Hierro, Adrián.; Le Biavan, Nolwenn; Hugues, Maxime; Chauveau, Jean-Michel

    2017-03-01

    Quantum cascade (QC) lasers opens new prospects for powerful sources operating at THz frequencies. Up to now the best THz QC lasers are based on intersubband emission in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well (QW) heterostructures. The maximum operating temperature is 200 K, which is too low for wide-spread applications. This is due to the rather low LO-phonon energy (36 meV) of GaAs-based materials. Indeed, thermal activation allows non-radiative path through electron-phonon interaction which destroys the population inversion. Wide band gap materials such as ZnO have been predicted to provide much higher operating temperatures because of the high value of their LO-phonon energy. However, despite some observations of intersubband absorption in c-plane ZnO/ZnMgO quantum wells, little is known on the fundamental parameters such as the conduction band offset in such heterostructures. In addition the internal field inherent to c-plane grown heterostuctures is an handicap for the design of QC lasers and detectors. In this talk, we will review a systematic investigation of ZnO/ZnMgO QW heterostructures with various Mg content and QW thicknesses grown by plasma molecular beam epitaxy on low-defect m-plane ZnO substrates. We will show that most samples exhibit TM-polarized intersubband absorption at room temperature linked either to bound-to-quasi bound inter-miniband absorption or to bound-to bound intersubband absorption depending on the Mg content of the barrier material. This systematic study allows for the first time to estimate the conduction band offset of ZnO/ZnMgO heterostructures, opening prospects for the design of QC devices operating at THz frequencies. This was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement #665107.

  14. International Conference on Laser Physics and Quantum Optics

    CERN Document Server

    Xie, Shengwu; Zhu, Shi-Yao; Scully, Marlan

    2000-01-01

    Since the advent of the laser about 40 years ago, the field of laser physics and quantum optics have evolved into a major discipline. The early studies included the optical coherence theory and the semiclassical and quantum mechanical theories of the laser. More recently many new and interesting effects have been predicted. These include the role of coherent atomic effects in lasing without inversion and electromagnetically induced transparency, atom optics, laser cooling and trapping, teleportation, the single-atom micromaser and its role in quantum measurement theory, to name a few. The International Conference on Laser Physics and Quantum Optics was held in Shanghai from August 25 to August 28, 1999, to discuss these and many other exciting developments in laser physics and quantum optics. The international character of the conference was manifested by the fact that scientists from over 13 countries participated and lectured at the conference. There were four keynote lectures delivered by Nobel laureate Wi...

  15. Emerging Concepts, Technologies and Opportunities for Mezzo-scale Terahertz and Infrared Facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swapan Chattopadhyay; Steven T. Corneliussen; Gwyn P. Williams

    2004-01-01

    Recent advances in high-current particle beam, bright photoinjector, laser and radiofrequency technologies, combined with innovative techniques such as energy recovery and laser-slicing of particle beams, have opened up new scientific opportunities with terahertz and infrared sources. They present new scientific frontiers not just in sources but in basic research applications involving timescale measurements and investigations at the quantum level. Such long-wavelength sources complement high-energy, short-wavelength x-ray sources by allowing collective processes and their ''function'' in complex systems to be probed in a fashion complementary to probing 'structure' via x-rays. This paper outlines and gives examples of the scientific reach of such sources and discusses some actual and envisioned facilities worldwide. Such facilities fall in the mezzo-scale category, bracketed by tabletop lasers and large synchrotrons. They offer unique and directed advances in life, materials and other sciences

  16. ZnCdMgSe as a Materials Platform for Advanced Photonic Devices: Broadband Quantum Cascade Detectors and Green Semiconductor Disk Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Joel

    The ZnCdMgSe family of II-VI materials has unique and promising characteristics that may be useful in practical applications. For example they can be grown lattice matched to InP substrates with lattice matched bandgaps that span from 2.1 to 3.5 eV, they can be successfully doped n-type, have a large conduction band offset (CBO) with no intervalley scattering present when strained, they have lower average phonon energies, and the InP lattice constant lies in the middle of the ZnSe and CdSe binaries compounds giving room to experiment with tensile and compressive stress. However they have not been studied in detail for use in practical devices. Here we have identified two types of devices that are being currently developed that benefit from the ZnCdMgSe-based material properties. These are the intersubband (ISB) quantum cascade (QC) detectors and optically pumped semiconductor lasers that emit in the visible range. The paucity for semiconductor lasers operating in the green-orange portion of the visible spectrum can be easily overcome with the ZnCdMgSe materials system developed in our research. The non-strain limited, large CBO available allows to expand the operating wavelength of ISB devices providing shorter and longer wavelengths than the currently commercially available devices. This property can also be exploited to develop broadband room temperature operation ISB detectors. The work presented here focused first on using the ZnCdMgSe-based material properties and parameter to understand and predict the interband and intersubband transitions of its heterostructures. We did this by studying an active region of a QC device by contactless electroreflectance, photoluminescence, FTIR transmittance and correlating the measurements to the quantum well structure by transfer matrix modeling. Then we worked on optimizing the ZnCdMgSe material heterostructures quality by studying the effects of growth interruptions on their optical and optoelectronic properties of

  17. Compact and portable open-path sensor for simultaneous measurements of atmospheric N2O and CO using a quantum cascade laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Lei; Sun, Kang; Khan, M Amir; Miller, David J; Zondlo, Mark A

    2012-12-17

    A compact and portable open-path sensor for simultaneous detection of atmospheric N(2)O and CO has been developed with a 4.5 μm quantum cascade laser (QCL). An in-line acetylene (C(2)H(2)) gas reference cell allows for continuous monitoring of the sensor drift and calibration in rapidly changing field environments and thereby allows for open-path detection at high precision and stability. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) is used to detect simultaneously both the second and fourth harmonic absorption spectra with an optimized dual modulation amplitude scheme. Multi-harmonic spectra containing atmospheric N(2)O, CO, and the reference C(2)H(2) signals are fit in real-time (10 Hz) by combining a software-based lock-in amplifier with a computationally fast numerical model for WMS. The sensor consumes ~50 W of power and has a mass of ~15 kg. Precision of 0.15 ppbv N(2)O and 0.36 ppbv CO at 10 Hz under laboratory conditions was demonstrated. The sensor has been deployed for extended periods in the field. Simultaneous N(2)O and CO measurements distinguished between natural and fossil fuel combustion sources of N(2)O, an important greenhouse gas with poorly quantified emissions in space and time.

  18. Mid-infrared studies of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keightley, Peter Thomas

    2001-01-01

    This thesis describes an investigation of GaAs/AIGaAs Quantum Cascade (QC) structures. Mid-infrared spectroscopic techniques are employed to study several QC LED and laser structures, in order to investigate the fundamental principles underlying the operation of these state of the art devices. The results presented in this thesis include the demonstration of intersubband lasing in a GaAs/AIGaAs QC laser, which closely followed the first report of QC lasing using this materials system in 1998, and form a basis from which further research into QC lasers can be built upon. Initially, a spectroscopic investigation of several QC LEDs is presented, beginning with a comparison of the performance of two designs incorporating an active region based on a diagonal transition. These devices have single quantum well (SQW), or multi-quantum well (MQW) bridging regions and are investigated using intersubband electroluminescence (EL) spectroscopy. It is found that although growth and design are simplified by the use of a SQW bridging region, superior performance is obtained by the use of MQW bridging regions, intersubband EL and photocurrent (PC) spectroscopy are employed to study the operating characteristics of a QC LED incorporating a graded superlattice active region. EL is observed at 9 and 11μm arising from interminiband radiative transitions. Complementary intersubband and interband spectroscopic techniques have been employed to study the evolution of the electron distribution within a QC LED, with increasing bias. Below the device turn on, the transfer of electrons from the donors to the active region ground state is observed. As the bias is increased the redistribution of electrons through the bridging region is observed, in conjunction with an alignment of energy levels within the structure, close to the operating bias. Intersubband lasing has been demonstrated from a GaAs/AIGaAs QC laser at λ∼9μm. Reciprocal gain measurements have been performed to determine the

  19. Methodical study of nitrous oxide eddy covariance measurements using quantum cascade laser spectrometery over a Swiss forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Eugster

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Nitrous oxide fluxes were measured at the Lägeren CarboEurope IP flux site over the multi-species mixed forest dominated by European beech and Norway spruce. Measurements were carried out during a four-week period in October–November 2005 during leaf senescence. Fluxes were measured with a standard ultrasonic anemometer in combination with a quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer that measured N2O, CO2, and H2O mixing ratios simultaneously at 5 Hz time resolution. To distinguish insignificant fluxes from significant ones it is proposed to use a new approach based on the significance of the correlation coefficient between vertical wind speed and mixing ratio fluctuations. This procedure eliminated roughly 56% of our half-hourly fluxes. Based on the remaining, quality checked N2O fluxes we quantified the mean efflux at 0.8±0.4 μmol m−2 h−1 (mean ± standard error. Most of the contribution to the N2O flux occurred during a 6.5-h period starting 4.5 h before each precipitation event. No relation with precipitation amount could be found. Visibility data representing fog density and duration at the site indicate that wetting of the canopy may have as strong an effect on N2O effluxes as does below-ground microbial activity. It is speculated that above-ground N2O production from the senescing leaves at high moisture (fog, drizzle, onset of precipitation event may be responsible for part of the measured flux.

  20. Scanning Terahertz Heterodyne Imaging Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegel, Peter; Dengler, Robert

    2007-01-01

    Scanning terahertz heterodyne imaging systems are now at an early stage of development. In a basic scanning terahertz heterodyne imaging system, (see Figure 1) two far-infrared lasers generate beams denoted the local-oscillator (LO) and signal that differ in frequency by an amount, denoted the intermediate frequency (IF), chosen to suit the application. The LO beam is sent directly to a mixer as one of two inputs. The signal beam is focused to a spot on or in the specimen. After transmission through or reflection from the specimen, the beams are focused to a spot on a terahertz mixer, which extracts the IF outputs. The specimen is mounted on a translation stage, by means of which the focal spot is scanned across the specimen to build up an image.

  1. Electron Raman scattering in asymmetrical multiple quantum wells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Betancourt-Riera, R; Rosas, R; Marin-Enriquez, I; Riera, R; Marin, J L

    2005-01-01

    Optical properties of asymmetrical multiple quantum wells for the construction of quantum cascade lasers are calculated, and expressions for the electronic states of asymmetrical multiple quantum wells are presented. The gain and differential cross-section for an electron Raman scattering process are obtained. Also, the emission spectra for several scattering configurations are discussed, and the corresponding selection rules for the processes involved are studied; an interpretation of the singularities found in the spectra is given. The electron Raman scattering studied here can be used to provide direct information about the efficiency of the lasers

  2. Frequency-comb-assisted broadband precision spectroscopy with cascaded diode lasers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Junqiu; Brasch, Victor; Pfeiffer, Martin H. P.

    2016-01-01

    Frequency-comb-assisted diode laser spectroscopy, employing both the accuracy of an optical frequency comb and the broad wavelength tuning range of a tunable diode laser, has been widely used in many applications. In this Letter, we present a novel method using cascaded frequency agile diode lasers......, which allows us to extend the measurement bandwidth to 37.4 THz (1355-1630 nm) at megahertz resolution with scanning speeds above 1 THz/s. It is demonstrated as a useful tool to characterize a broadband spectrum for molecular spectroscopy, and in particular it enables us to characterize the dispersion...

  3. In vitro terahertz monitoring of muscle tissue dehydration under the action of hyperosmotic agents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolesnikov, A S; Kolesnikova, E A; Popov, A P; Tuchin, V V [N.G. Chernyshevsky Saratov State University, Saratov (Russian Federation); Nazarov, M M [Institute on Laser and Information Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Shatura, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Shkurinov, A P [International Laser Center, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2014-07-31

    Dehydration of muscle tissue in vitro under the action of biologically compatible hyperosmotic agents is studied using a laser terahertz spectrometer in the frequency range from 0.25 to 2.5 THz. Broadband terahertz absorption and reflection spectra of the bovine skeletal muscle tissue were obtained under the action of glycerol, polyethylene glycol with the molecular weight 600 (PEG-600), and propylene glycol. The presented results are proposed for application in developing the methods of image contrast enhancement and increasing the depth of biological tissue probing with terahertz radiation. (laser biophotonics)

  4. Cascaded quadratic soliton compression of high-power femtosecond fiber lasers in Lithium Niobate crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bache, Morten; Moses, Jeffrey; Wise, Frank W.

    2008-01-01

    The output of a high-power femtosecond fiber laser is typically 300 fs with a wavelength around $\\lambda=1030-1060$ nm. Our numerical simulations show that cascaded quadratic soliton compression in bulk LiNbO$_3$ can compress such pulses to below 100 fs.......The output of a high-power femtosecond fiber laser is typically 300 fs with a wavelength around $\\lambda=1030-1060$ nm. Our numerical simulations show that cascaded quadratic soliton compression in bulk LiNbO$_3$ can compress such pulses to below 100 fs....

  5. Excitonic terahertz photoconductivity in intrinsic semiconductor nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Jie-Yun

    2018-06-01

    Excitonic terahertz photoconductivity in intrinsic semiconductor nanowires is studied. Based on the excitonic theory, the numerical method to calculate the photoconductivity spectrum in the nanowires is developed, which can simulate optical pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy measurements on real nanowires and thereby calculate the typical photoconductivity spectrum. With the help of the energetic structure deduced from the calculated linear absorption spectrum, the numerically observed shift of the resonant peak in the photoconductivity spectrum is found to result from the dominant exciton transition between excited or continuum states to the ground state, and the quantitative analysis is in good agreement with the quantum plasmon model. Besides, the dependence of the photoconductivity on the polarization of the terahertz field is also discussed. The numerical method and supporting theoretical analysis provide a new tool for experimentalists to understand the terahertz photoconductivity in intrinsic semiconductor nanowires at low temperatures or for nanowires subjected to below bandgap photoexcitation, where excitonic effects dominate.

  6. Epi-Side-Down Mounting of Interband Cascade Lasers for Army Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Tobin, M. S; Monroy, C. J; Oliver, K. A; Tober, R. L; Bradshaw, J. L; Bruno, J. D; Towner, F. J

    2006-01-01

    The interband cascade laser, based on the type II energy band alignment in the InAs/GaSb material system, has great potential to meet the power and the wall plug efficiency requirements of many Army applications...

  7. Semiconductor optical amplifier-based heterodyning detection for resolving optical terahertz beat-tone signals from passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Latkowski, Sylwester; Maldonado-Basilio, Ramon; Carney, Kevin; Parra-Cetina, Josue; Philippe, Severine; Landais, Pascal

    2010-01-01

    An all-optical heterodyne approach based on a room-temperature controlled semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) for measuring the frequency and linewidth of the terahertz beat-tone signal from a passively mode-locked laser is proposed. Under the injection of two external cavity lasers, the SOA acts as a local oscillator at their detuning frequency and also as an optical frequency mixer whose inputs are the self-modulated spectrum of the device under test and the two laser beams. Frequency and linewidth of the intermediate frequency signal (and therefore, the beat-tone signal) are resolved by using a photodiode and an electrical spectrum analyzer.

  8. Inter-subbandspectroscopy on silicon-germanium quantum cascade structures; Intersubband Spektroskopie an Silizium-Germanium-Quantenkaskadenstrukturen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bormann, I.

    2006-02-15

    This work refers to the design, the fabrication and the structural, electrical and optical characterization of light emitters based on SiGe quantum cascade structures (QCS). In a first step two Si/SiGe quantum cascade structures without waveguides were designed using a 6-band k x p calculation of the subband structure including Si/Ge segregation effects during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth. After growth on (001) Si substrates they were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Although the structures are strongly strained due to the average Ge content of 18%, they show no signs of strain relaxation. The interface roughness amounts to three monolayers in good agreement with the segregation model. Both structures show well resolved intersubband electroluminescence (EL) at 146 meV and 159 meV respectively in excellent agreement with the band structure calculations. The line width is 30 meV. The transversal magnetic polarization and photocurrent measurements prove that the intersubband transition is the source of the emitted luminescence. Numerical calculations of the upper state nonradiative hole lifetime determined by the deformation potential scattering of holes with optical phonons reveal a lifetime of about 400 fs for both structures. The feasibility to enhance the upper state lifetime in 'diagonal' transitions between heavy hole states in neighboring quantum wells is investigated. Therefore the Si barrier thickness between the quantum wells was varied and accordingly the wave function overlap using a second sample series. From EL measurements the lifetime of the 35 A barrier sample was found to be 17 times longer than for a 15 A barrier. It is possible to reduce the strong strain in Si/SiGe structures by using a virtual Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} substrate. For this purpose a thin Si{sub 0.72}Ge{sub 0.28} relaxed buffer with a threading dislocation density of 10{sup 7} cm{sup -2} and a RMS surface roughness of 13 A was developed and

  9. Graphene-based devices in terahertz science and technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otsuji, T; Boubanga Tombet, S A; Satou, A; Fukidome, H; Suemitsu, M; Ryzhii, V; Sano, E; Popov, V; Ryzhii, M

    2012-01-01

    Graphene is a one-atom-thick planar sheet of a honeycomb carbon crystal. Its gapless and linear energy spectra of electrons and holes lead to nontrivial features such as giant carrier mobility and broadband flat optical response. In this paper, recent advances in graphene-based devices in terahertz science and technology are reviewed. First, the fundamental basis of the optoelectronic properties of graphene is introduced. Second, synthesis and crystallographic characterization of graphene material are described, particularly focused on the authors' original heteroepitaxial graphene-on-silicon technology. Third, nonequilibrium carrier relaxation and recombination dynamics in optically or electrically pumped graphene are described to introduce a possibility of negative-dynamic conductivity in a wide terahertz range. Fourth, recent theoretical advances towards the creation of current-injection graphene terahertz lasers are described. Fifth, the unique terahertz dynamics of the two-dimensional plasmons in graphene are described. Finally, the advantages of graphene devices for terahertz applications are summarized. (topical review)

  10. Ultrashort Generation Regimes in the All-Fiber Kerr Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Ring Laser for Terahertz Pulsed Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. S. Voropaev

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Many femtosecond engineering applications require for a stable generation of ultrashort pulses. Thus, in the terahertz pulsed spectroscopy a measurement error in the refractive index is strongly dependent on the pulse duration stability with allowable variation of few femtoseconds. The aim of this work is to study the ultrashort pulses (USP regimes stability in the all – fiber erbium doped ring laser with Kerr mode-locking. The study was conducted at several different values of the total resonator intra-cavity dispersion. Three laser schemes with the intra-cavity dispersion values from -1.232 ps2 to +0.008 ps2 have been studied. In the experiment there were two regimes of generation observed: the stretched pulse generation and ordinary soliton generation. Main attention is focused on the stability of regimes under study. The most stable regime was that of the stretched pulse generation with a spectrum form of sech2 , possible pulse duration of 490 fs at least, repetition rate of 2.9 MHz, and average output power of 17 mW. It is worth noting, that obtained regimes had characteristics suitable for the successful use in the terahertz pulsed spectroscopy. The results may be useful in the following areas of science and technology: a high-precision spectroscopy, optical frequency standards, super-continuum generation, and terahertz pulsed spectroscopy. The future system development is expected to stabilize duration and repetition rate of the obtained regime of ultra-short pulse generation.

  11. Semiconductor lasers stability, instability and chaos

    CERN Document Server

    Ohtsubo, Junji

    2017-01-01

    This book describes the fascinating recent advances made concerning the chaos, stability and instability of semiconductor lasers, and discusses their applications and future prospects in detail. It emphasizes the dynamics in semiconductor lasers by optical and electronic feedback, optical injection, and injection current modulation. Applications of semiconductor laser chaos, control and noise, and semiconductor lasers are also demonstrated. Semiconductor lasers with new structures, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and broad-area semiconductor lasers, are intriguing and promising devices. Current topics include fast physical number generation using chaotic semiconductor lasers for secure communication, development of chaos, quantum-dot semiconductor lasers and quantum-cascade semiconductor lasers, and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. This fourth edition has been significantly expanded to reflect the latest developments. The fundamental theory of laser chaos and the chaotic dynamics in se...

  12. Nanoantenna enhanced terahertz spectroscopy of a monolayer of cadmium selenide quantum dots

    KAUST Repository

    Razzari, Luca; Toma, Andrea; Tuccio, Salvatore; Prato, Mirko; De Donato, Francesco; Perucchi, Andrea; Di Pietro, Paola; Marras, Sergio; Liberale, Carlo; Proietti Zaccaria, Remo; De Angelis, Francesco De; Manna, Liberato; Lupi, Stefano; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.

    2014-01-01

    Exploiting the localization and enhancement capabilities of terahertz resonant dipole nanoantennas coupled through nanogaps, we present an effective method to perform terahertz spectroscopy on an extremely small number of nano-objects.

  13. Terahertz radiation generation by beating of two laser beams in a collisional plasma with oblique magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hematizadeh, Ayoob; Jazayeri, Seyed Masud; Ghafary, Bijan

    2018-02-01

    A scheme for excitation of terahertz (THz) radiation is presented by photo mixing of two super-Gaussian laser beams in a rippled density collisional magnetized plasma. Lasers having different frequencies and wave numbers but the same electric fields create a ponderomotive force on the electrons of plasma in the beating frequency. Super-Gaussian laser beam has the exclusive features such as steep gradient in laser intensity distribution, wider cross-section in comparison with Gaussian profiles, which make stronger ponderomotive force and higher THz radiation. The magnetic field is considered oblique to laser beams propagation direction; in this case, depending on the phase matching conditions different mode waves can propagate in plasma. It is found that amplitude and efficiency of the emitted THz radiation not only are sensitive to the beating frequency, collision frequency, and magnetic field strength but to the angle between laser beams and static magnetic field. The efficiency of THz radiation can be optimized in a certain angle.

  14. Modeling Quantum Well Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Alexandru Anghel

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In semiconductor laser modeling, a good mathematical model gives near-reality results. Three methods of modeling solutions from the rate equations are presented and analyzed. A method based on the rate equations modeled in Simulink to describe quantum well lasers was presented. For different signal types like step function, saw tooth and sinus used as input, a good response of the used equations is obtained. Circuit model resulting from one of the rate equations models is presented and simulated in SPICE. Results show a good modeling behavior. Numerical simulation in MathCad gives satisfactory results for the study of the transitory and dynamic operation at small level of the injection current. The obtained numerical results show the specific limits of each model, according to theoretical analysis. Based on these results, software can be built that integrates circuit simulation and other modeling methods for quantum well lasers to have a tool that model and analysis these devices from all points of view.

  15. Generation of phase-locked and tunable continuous-wave radiation in the terahertz regime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quraishi, Qudsia; Griebel, Martin; Kleine-Ostmann, Thomas; Bratschitsch, Rudolf

    2005-12-01

    Broadly tunable phase-stable single-frequency terahertz radiation is generated with an optical heterodyne photomixer. The photomixer is excited by two near-infrared CW diode lasers that are phase locked to the stabilized optical frequency comb of a femtosecond titanium:sapphire laser. The terahertz radiation emitted by the photomixer is downconverted into RF frequencies with a waveguide harmonic mixer and measurement-limited linewidths at the Hertz level are demonstrated.

  16. Quantum dot lasers: From promise to high-performance devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, P.; Mi, Z.; Yang, J.; Basu, D.; Saha, D.

    2009-03-01

    Ever since self-organized In(Ga)As/Ga(AI)As quantum dots were realized by molecular beam epitaxy, it became evident that these coherently strained nanostructures could be used as the active media in devices. While the expected advantages stemming from three-dimensional quantum confinement were clearly outlined, these were not borne out by the early experiments. It took a very detailed understanding of the unique carrier dynamics in the quantum dots to exploit their full potential. As a result, we now have lasers with emission wavelengths ranging from 0.7 to 1.54 μm, on GaAs, which demonstrate ultra-low threshold currents, near-zero chip and α-factor and large modulation bandwidth. State-of-the-art performance characteristics of these lasers are briefly reviewed. The growth, fabrication and characteristics of quantum dot lasers on silicon substrates are also described. With the incorporation of multiple quantum dot layers as a dislocation filter, we demonstrate lasers with Jth=900 A/cm 2. The monolithic integration of the lasers with guided wave modulators on silicon is also described. Finally, the properties of spin-polarized lasers with quantum dot active regions are described. Spin injection of electrons is done with a MnAs/GaAs tunnel barrier. Laser operation at 200 K is demonstrated, with the possibility of room temperature operation in the near future.

  17. Echo-enabled tunable terahertz radiation generation with a laser-modulated relativistic electron beam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen Wang

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available A new scheme to generate narrow-band tunable terahertz (THz radiation using a variant of the echo-enabled harmonic generation is analyzed. We show that by using an energy chirped beam, THz density modulation in the beam phase space can be produced with two lasers having the same wavelength. This removes the need for an optical parametric amplifier system to provide a wavelength-tunable laser to vary the central frequency of the THz radiation. The practical feasibility and applications of this scheme are demonstrated numerically with a start-to-end simulation using the beam parameters at the Shanghai Deep Ultraviolet Free-Electron Laser facility (SDUV. The central frequency of the density modulation can be continuously tuned by either varying the chirp of the beam or the momentum compactions of the chicanes. The influence of nonlinear rf chirp and longitudinal space charge effect have also been studied in our article. The methods to generate the THz radiation in SDUV with the new scheme and the estimation of the radiation power are also discussed briefly.

  18. Fabrication of photonic amorphous diamonds for terahertz-wave applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Komiyama, Yuichiro; Abe, Hiroyuki; Kamimura, Yasushi; Edagawa, Keiichi, E-mail: edagawa@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan)

    2016-05-09

    A recently proposed photonic bandgap material, named “photonic amorphous diamond” (PAD), was fabricated in a terahertz regime, and its terahertz-wave propagation properties were investigated. The PAD structure was fabricated from acrylic resin mixed with alumina powder, using laser lithographic, micro-additive manufacturing technique. After fabrication, the resulting structure was dewaxed and sintered. The formation of a photonic bandgap at around 0.45 THz was demonstrated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. Reflecting the disordered nature of the random network structure, diffusive terahertz-wave propagation was observed in the passbands; the scattering mean-free path decreased as the frequency approached the band edge. The mean-free paths evaluated at the band edges were close to the Ioffe-Regel threshold value for wave localization.

  19. Terahertz spectroscopy on Faraday and Kerr rotations in a quantum anomalous Hall state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Ken N; Takahashi, Youtarou; Mogi, Masataka; Yoshimi, Ryutaro; Tsukazaki, Atsushi; Takahashi, Kei S; Ogawa, Naoki; Kawasaki, Masashi; Tokura, Yoshinori

    2016-07-20

    Electrodynamic responses from three-dimensional topological insulators are characterized by the universal magnetoelectric term constituent of the Lagrangian formalism. The quantized magnetoelectric coupling, which is generally referred to as topological magnetoelectric effect, has been predicted to induce exotic phenomena including the universal low-energy magneto-optical effects. Here we report the experimental indication of the topological magnetoelectric effect, which is exemplified by magneto-optical Faraday and Kerr rotations in the quantum anomalous Hall states of magnetic topological insulator surfaces by terahertz magneto-optics. The universal relation composed of the observed Faraday and Kerr rotation angles but not of any material parameters (for example, dielectric constant and magnetic susceptibility) well exhibits the trajectory towards the fine structure constant in the quantized limit.

  20. Study on spectral features of terahertz wave propagating in the air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Shengwu

    2018-03-01

    Now, Terahertz technology has been widely used in many fields, which is mainly related to imaging detection. While the frequency range of the terahertz-wave is located between microwave and visible light, whether the existing visible light principle is applicable to terahertz-wave should be studied again. Through experiment, we measure the terahertz-wave field amplitude distribution on the receiving plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation in the air and picture out the energy distribution curve; derive an energy decay formula of terahertz wave based on the results; design a terahertz wavelength apparatus using the F-P interferometer theory; test the wavelength between 1 and 3 THz from the SIFIR-50THz laser of American Corehent company; finally analyze the related factors affecting the measurement precision including the beam incident angle, mechanical vibration, temperature fluctuation and the refractive index fluctuation.

  1. Electrically pumped graphene-based Landau-level laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brem, Samuel; Wendler, Florian; Winnerl, Stephan; Malic, Ermin

    2018-03-01

    Graphene exhibits a nonequidistant Landau quantization with tunable Landau-level (LL) transitions in the technologically desired terahertz spectral range. Here, we present a strategy for an electrically driven terahertz laser based on Landau-quantized graphene as the gain medium. Performing microscopic modeling of the coupled electron, phonon, and photon dynamics in such a laser, we reveal that an inter-LL population inversion can be achieved resulting in the emission of coherent terahertz radiation. The presented paper provides a concrete recipe for the experimental realization of tunable graphene-based terahertz laser systems.

  2. Characteristic responses of biological and nanoscale systems in the terahertz frequency range

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angeluts, A A; Balakin, A V; Evdokimov, M G; Ozheredov, I A; Sapozhnikov, D A; Solyankin, P M; Shkurinov, A P [International Laser Center, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Esaulkov, M N; Nazarov, M M [Institute on Laser and Information Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Shatura, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Cherkasova, O P [Institute of Laser Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

    2014-07-31

    This paper briefly examines methods for the generation of pulsed terahertz radiation and principles of pulsed terahertz spectroscopy, an advanced informative method for studies of complex biological and nanostructured systems. Some of its practical applications are described. Using a number of steroid hormones as examples, we demonstrate that terahertz spectroscopy in combination with molecular dynamics methods and computer simulation allows one to gain information about the structure of molecules in crystals. A 'terahertz colour vision' method is proposed for analysis of pulsed terahertz signals reflected from biological tissues and it is shown that this method can be effectively used to analyse the properties of biological tissues and for early skin cancer diagnosis. (laser biophotonics)

  3. Cascade generation in Al laser induced plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagli, Lev; Gaft, Michael; Raichlin, Yosef; Gornushkin, Igor

    2018-05-01

    We found cascade IR generation in Al laser induced plasma. This generation includes doublet transitions 3s 25s 2S1/2 → 3s24p 2P1/2,3/2 → 3s24s 2S1/2; corresponding to strong lines at 2110 and 2117 nm, and much weaker lines at 1312-1315 nm. The 3s25s2S 1/2 starting IR generation level is directly pumped from the 3s23p 2P3/2 ground level. The starting level for UV generation at 396.2 nm (transitions 3s24s 2S1/2 → 4p 2P3/2) is populated due to the fast collisional processes in the plasma plume. These differences led to different time and special dependences on the lasing in the IR and UV spectral range within the aluminum laser induced plasma.

  4. Imaging with a 90 frames/s microbolometer focal plane array and high-power terahertz free electron laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dem'yanenko, M. A.; Esaev, D. G.; Knyazev, B. A.; Vinokurov, N. A.; Kulipanov, G. N.

    2008-01-01

    An uncooled microbolometer focal plane array (FPA) has been developed and used for imaging of objects illuminated by monochromatic coherent radiation of a free electron laser tunable in the range of 1.25-2.5 THz. A sensitivity threshold of 1.3x10 -3 W/cm 2 was obtained for the FPA with a homemade absolute interferometric power meter. Videos up to 90 frames/s were recorded in both transmission and reflection/scattering modes. When objects were illuminated by laser radiation scattered by a rough metal surface, speckled images were observed. Good quality terahertz images were achieved through the fast rotation of the scatterer

  5. Molecular spectrum of laterally coupled quantum rings under intense terahertz radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baghramyan, Henrikh M; Barseghyan, Manuk G; Laroze, David

    2017-09-05

    We study the influence of intense THz laser radiation and electric field on molecular states of laterally coupled quantum rings. Laser radiation shows the capability to dissociate quantum ring molecule and add 2-fold degeneracy to the molecular states at the fixed value of the overlapping size between rings. It is shown that coupled to decoupled molecular states phase transition points form almost a straight line with a slope equal to two. In addition, the electric field direction dependent energy spectrum shows unexpected oscillations, demonstrating strong coupling between molecular states. Besides, intraband absorption is considered, showing both blue and redshifts in its spectrum. The obtained results can be useful for the controlling of degeneracy of the discrete energy spectrum of nanoscale structures and in the tunneling effects therein.

  6. Magnetic field effect on the laser-driven density of states for electrons in a cylindrical quantum wire: transition from one-dimensional to zero-dimensional behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, C P; Lima, F M S; Fonseca, A L A; Nunes, O A C

    2011-01-01

    The influence of a uniform magnetic field on the density of states (DoS) for carriers confined in a cylindrical semiconductor quantum wire irradiated by a monochromatic, linearly polarized, intense laser field is computed here non-perturbatively, following the Green's function scheme introduced by some of the authors in a recent work (Lima et al 2009 Solid State Commun. 149 678). Besides the known changes in the DoS provoked by an intense terahertz laser field-namely, a significant reduction and the appearance of Franz-Keldysh-like oscillations-our model reveals that the inclusion of a longitudinal magnetic field induces additional blueshifts on the energy levels of the allowed states. Our results show that the increase of the blueshifts with the magnitude of the magnetic field depends only on the azimuthal quantum number m (m=0, 1, 2, ...), being more pronounced for states with higher values of m, which leads to some energy crossovers. For all states, we have obtained, even in the absence of a magnetic field, a localization effect that leads to a transition in the DoS from the usual profile of quasi-1D systems to a peaked profile typical of quasi-0D systems, as e.g. those found for electrons confined in a quantum dot.

  7. Percolation-enhanced generation of terahertz pulses by optical rectification on ultrathin gold films

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ramakrishnan, G.; Planken, P.C.M.

    2011-01-01

    Emission of pulses of electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz range is observed when ultrathin gold films on glass are illuminated with femtosecond near-IR laser pulses. A distinct maximum is observed in the emitted terahertz amplitude from films of average thickness just above the percolation

  8. Terahertz heterodyne technology for astronomy and planetary science

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wild, Wolfgang

    2007-01-01

    Heterodyne detection techniques play an important role in high-resolution spectroscopy in astronomy and planetary science. In particular, heterodyne technology in the Terahertz range has rapidly evolved in recent years. Cryogenically cooled receivers approaching quantum-limited sensitivity have been

  9. Transient photoconductivity in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells, measured by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Porte, Henrik; Turchinovich, Dmitry; Cooke, David

    2009-01-01

    Terahertz conductivity of InGaN/GaN MQWs was studied by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. Restoration of the built-in piezoelectric field leads to a nonexponential carrier density decay. Terahertz conductivity spectrum is described by the Drude-Smith......Terahertz conductivity of InGaN/GaN MQWs was studied by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. Restoration of the built-in piezoelectric field leads to a nonexponential carrier density decay. Terahertz conductivity spectrum is described by the Drude-Smith...

  10. 5.5 W of Diffraction-Limited Green Light Generated by SFG of Tapered Diode Lasers in a Cascade of Nonlinear Crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anders Kragh; Jensen, Ole Bjarlin; Andersen, Peter Eskil

    2015-01-01

    Diode-based high power visible lasers are perfect pump sources for, e.g., titaniumsapphire lasers. The combination of favorable scaling laws in both SFG and cascading of nonlinear crystals allows access to unprecedented powers in diode-based systems.......Diode-based high power visible lasers are perfect pump sources for, e.g., titaniumsapphire lasers. The combination of favorable scaling laws in both SFG and cascading of nonlinear crystals allows access to unprecedented powers in diode-based systems....

  11. Quantum Cascade Laser Measurements of Line Intensities, N2-, O2- and Ar- Collisional Broadening Coefficients of N2O in the  3 Band Near 4.5  m

    KAUST Repository

    Es-sebbar, Et-touhami; Deli, Meriem; Farooq, Aamir

    2016-01-01

    This study deals with precise measurements of absolute line intensities, N2-, O2- and Ar- collisional broadening coefficients of N2O in the P-branch of the ν3 vibrational band near 4.5 μm. Collisional broadening coefficients of N2O-air are derived from the N2- and O2- broadening contributions by considering an ideal atmospheric composition. Studies are performed at room temperature for 10 rotational transitions over 2190-2202 cm-1 spectral range using a distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser. To retrieve spectroscopic parameters for each individual transition, measured absorption line shape is simulated within Voigt and Galatry profiles. The obtained results compare well with previous experimental data available in the literature: the discrepancies being less than 4% for most of the probed transitions. The spectroscopic data reported here are very useful for the design of sensors used to monitor the abundance of N2O in earth's atmosphere. © The Author(s) 2016.

  12. Quantum Cascade Laser Measurements of Line Intensities, N2-, O2- and Ar- Collisional Broadening Coefficients of N2O in the  3 Band Near 4.5  m

    KAUST Repository

    Es-sebbar, Et-touhami

    2016-04-19

    This study deals with precise measurements of absolute line intensities, N2-, O2- and Ar- collisional broadening coefficients of N2O in the P-branch of the ν3 vibrational band near 4.5 μm. Collisional broadening coefficients of N2O-air are derived from the N2- and O2- broadening contributions by considering an ideal atmospheric composition. Studies are performed at room temperature for 10 rotational transitions over 2190-2202 cm-1 spectral range using a distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser. To retrieve spectroscopic parameters for each individual transition, measured absorption line shape is simulated within Voigt and Galatry profiles. The obtained results compare well with previous experimental data available in the literature: the discrepancies being less than 4% for most of the probed transitions. The spectroscopic data reported here are very useful for the design of sensors used to monitor the abundance of N2O in earth\\'s atmosphere. © The Author(s) 2016.

  13. Analysis of dual-mode lasing characteristics in a 1310-nm optically injected quantum dot distributed feedback laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raghunathan, R.; Olinger, J.; Hurtado, A.; Grillot, F.; Kovanis, V.; Lester, L. F.

    2015-03-01

    Recent work has shown the Quantum Dot (QD) material system to be well-suited to support dual-mode lasing. In particular, optical injection from a master laser (ML) into the residual Fabry-Perot (FP) modes of a 1310 nm Quantum Dot Distributed Feedback (QD-DFB) laser has been recently demonstrated to offer a highly reliable platform for stable dual-mode lasing operation. External controls on the ML, such as operating temperature and bias current, can be used to precisely adjust the spacing between the two lasing modes. This tunability of modeseparation is very promising for a range of applications requiring the generation of microwave, millimeter wave and terahertz signals. Considering the versatility and utility of such a scheme, it is imperative to acquire a deeper understanding of the factors that influence the dual-mode lasing process, in order to optimize performance. Toward this end, this paper seeks to further our understanding of the optically-injected dual-mode lasing mechanism. For fixed values of optical power injected into each FP residual mode and wavelength detuning, the dual-mode lasing characteristics are analyzed with regard to important system parameters such as the position and the intensity of the injected residual mode (relative to the Bragg and the other residual FP modes of the device) for two similarly-fabricated QD-DFBs. Results indicate that for dual mode lasing spaced less than 5 nm apart, the relative intensity of the injected FP mode and intracavity noise levels are critical factors in determining dual mode lasing behavior. Insight into the dual-mode lasing characteristics could provide an important design guideline for the master and QD-DFB slave laser cavities.

  14. Studies on the first-order hyperpolarizability and terahertz generation in 3-nitroaniline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnakumar, V.; Nagalakshmi, R.

    2008-01-01

    Single crystals of 3-nitroaniline (C 6 H 6 N 2 O 2 ) also called as m-nitroaniline (m-NA) have been grown by adopting slow evaporation solution growth technique at room temperature using methanol as a solvent. To reveal the microscopic nonlinear optical properties, the first-order hyperpolarizability (β) was evaluated by using the density functional theory (DFT) quantum chemical calculations at B3LYP/3-21 G (d,p) level. According to the results of DFT calculations, the grown crystals exhibit non-zero β values and it might have microscopic nonlinear optical behavior which is seven times more than that of urea. Terahertz (1 THz=10 12 Hz) radiation was also generated in the title organic nonlinear optical crystal using ultra short femtosecond laser

  15. Bridging the terahertz gap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davies, Giles; Linfield, Edmund

    2004-01-01

    Over the last century or so, physicists and engineers have progressively explored and conquered the electromagnetic spectrum. Starting with visible light, we have encroached outwards, developing techniques for generating and detecting radiation at both higher and lower frequencies. And as each successive region of the spectrum has been colonized, we have developed technology to exploit the radiation found there. X-rays, for example, are routinely used to image hidden objects. Near-infrared radiation is used in fibre-optic communications and in compact-disc players, while microwaves are used to transmit signals from your mobile phone. But there is one part of the electromagnetic spectrum that has steadfastly resisted our advances. This is the terahertz region, which ranges from frequencies of about 300 GHz to 10 THz (10 x 10 sup 1 sup 2 Hz). This corresponds to wavelengths of between about 1 and 0.03 mm, and lies between the microwave and infrared regions of the spectrum. However, the difficulties involved in making suitably compact terahertz sources and detectors has meant that this region of the spectrum has only begun to be explored thoroughly over the last decade. A particularly intriguing feature of terahertz radiation is that the semiconductor devices that generate radiation at frequencies above and below this range operate in completely different ways. At lower frequencies, microwaves and millimetre- waves can be generated by 'electronic' devices such as those found in mobile phones. At higher frequencies, near-infrared and visible light are generated by 'optical' devices such as semiconductor laser diodes, in which electrons emit light when they jump across the semiconductor band gap. Unfortunately, neither electronic nor optical devices can conveniently be made to work in the terahertz region because the terahertz frequency range sits between the electronic and optical regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Developing a terahertz source is therefore a

  16. Broadband terahertz generation using the semiconductor-metal transition in VO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas A. Charipar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of broadband terahertz emitters based on the semiconductor-metal transition in thin film VO2 (vanadium dioxide. With the appropriate geometry, picosecond electrical pulses are generated by illuminating 120 nm thick VO2 with 280 fs pulses from a femtosecond laser. These ultrafast electrical pulses are used to drive a simple dipole antenna, generating broadband terahertz radiation.

  17. Highly efficient quantum dot-based photoconductive THz materials and devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafailov, E. U.; Leyman, R.; Carnegie, D.; Bazieva, N.

    2013-09-01

    We demonstrate Terahertz (THz) signal sources based on photoconductive (PC) antenna devices comprising active layers of InAs semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) on GaAs. Antenna structures comprised of multiple active layers of InAs:GaAs PC materials are optically pumped using ultrashort pulses generated by a Ti:Sapphire laser and CW dualwavelength laser diodes. We also characterised THz output signals using a two-antenna coherent detection system. We discuss preliminary performance data from such InAs:GaAs THz devices which exhibit efficient emission of both pulsed and continuous wave (CW) THz signals and significant optical-to-THz conversion at both absorption wavelength ranges, <=850 nm and <=1300 nm.

  18. Narrow line-width Tm3+ doped double-clad silica fiber laser based on in-line cascade biconical tapers filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian, Y; Zhao, J Q; Wang, W; Wang, Y Z; Gao, W

    2010-01-01

    Narrow line-width 793 nm laser diode cladding pumped Tm 3+ doped double cladding silica fiber laser with in-line four concatenated tapers filter was reported for the first time to our knowledge. These cascade tapers located 3.6 cm from the output end of the fiber laser was fabricated by heating and stretching method. The taper's transmitted power response as a function of wavelength was described by using local mode coupling theory and successive tapers filter model. The wavelength filter function of the in-line cascade tapers in a linear cavity fiber laser was demonstrated, and the experimental result agreed with these theories. The maximum output laser power was 736 mW, corresponding to single peak of laser spectrum with narrow line-width of ∼ 60 pm

  19. Quantum confined laser devices optical gain and recombination in semiconductors

    CERN Document Server

    Blood, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The semiconductor laser, invented over 50 years ago, has had an enormous impact on the digital technologies that now dominate so many applications in business, commerce and the home. The laser is used in all types of optical fibre communication networks that enable the operation of the internet, e-mail, voice and skype transmission. Approximately one billion are produced each year for a market valued at around $5 billion. Nearly all semiconductor lasers now use extremely thin layers of light emitting materials (quantum well lasers). Increasingly smaller nanostructures are used in the form of quantum dots. The impact of the semiconductor laser is surprising in the light of the complexity of the physical processes that determine the operation of every device. This text takes the reader from the fundamental optical gain and carrier recombination processes in quantum wells and quantum dots, through descriptions of common device structures to an understanding of their operating characteristics. It has a consistent...

  20. Long Path Quantum Cascade Laser Based Sensor for Environment Sensing/Ambient Detection of CH4 and N2O

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo, P. C.; Sydoryk, I.; Gross, B.; Moshary, F.

    2013-12-01

    Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) are long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere with significant global warming effects. These gases also are known to be produced in a number of anthropogenic settings such as manure management systems, which releases substantial GHGs and is mandated by the EPA to provide continuous monitoring. In addition, natural gas leaks in urban areas is another source of strong spatially inhomogeneous methane emissions Most open path methods for quantitative detection of trace gases utilize either Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTIR) or near-IR differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS). Although, FTIR is suitable for ambient air monitoring measurement of more abundant gases such as CO2 and H20 etc., the lack of spectral resolution makes the retrieval of weaker absorbing features such as N20 more difficult. On the other hand, conventional DOAS systems can be large and impractical. As an alternative, we illustrate a robust portable quantum cascade laser (QCL) approach for simultaneous detection of CH4 and N2O. In particular, gas spectra were recorded by ultrafast pulse intensity (thermal) chirp tuning over the 1299 - 1300cm-1 spectral window. Etalon measurements insure stable tuning was obtained. To deal with multiple species, a LSQ spectral fitting approach was used which accounted for both the overlapping trace gases , background water vapor as well as detector drift and calibration. In summary, ambient concentrations of CH4 with and N2O with accuracy < 1% was obtained on the order of 5ms using optical paths of 500 m path length. In addition, unattended long term operation was demonstrated and validations using other sensors when possible were shown to be consistent. The system accuracy is limited by systemic errors, which are still being explored.

  1. Precise real-time polarization measurement of terahertz electromagnetic waves by a spinning electro-optic sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasumatsu, Naoya; Watanabe, Shinichi

    2012-02-01

    We propose and develop a method to quickly and precisely determine the polarization direction of coherent terahertz electromagnetic waves generated by femtosecond laser pulses. The measurement system consists of a conventional terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system with the electro-optic (EO) sampling method, but we add a new functionality in the EO crystal which is continuously rotating with the angular frequency ω. We find a simple yet useful formulation of the EO signal as a function of the crystal orientation, which enables a lock-in-like detection of both the electric-field amplitude and the absolute polarization direction of the terahertz waves with respect to the probe laser pulse polarization direction at the same time. The single measurement finishes around two periods of the crystal rotations (∼21 ms), and we experimentally prove that the accuracy of the polarization measurement does not suffer from the long-term amplitude fluctuation of the terahertz pulses. Distribution of the measured polarization directions by repeating the measurements is excellently fitted by a gaussian distribution function with a standard deviation of σ = 0.56°. The developed technique is useful for the fast direct determination of the polarization state of the terahertz electromagnetic waves for polarization imaging applications as well as the precise terahertz Faraday or Kerr rotation spectroscopy.

  2. Simulation of electron transport in GaAs/AlAs superlattices with a small number of periods for the THz frequency range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavelyev, D. G.; Vasilev, A. P.; Kozlov, V. A.; Koschurinov, Yu. I.; Obolenskaya, E. S.; Obolensky, S. V.; Ustinov, V. M.

    2016-01-01

    The electron transport in superlattices based on GaAs/AlAs heterostructures with a small number of periods (6 periods) is calculated by the Monte Carlo method. These superlattices are used in terahertz diodes for the frequency stabilization of quantum cascade lasers in the range up to 4.7 THz. The band structure of superlattices with different numbers of AlAs monolayers is considered and their current–voltage characteristics are calculated. The calculated current–voltage characteristics are compared with the experimental data. The possibility of the efficient application of these superlattices in the THz frequency range is established both theoretically and experimentally.

  3. Quantum aspects of the free electron laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaiba, R.

    2007-03-15

    We study the role of Quantum Mechanics in the physics of Free Electron Lasers. While the Free Electron Laser (FEL) is usually treated as a classical device, we review the advantages of a quantum formulation of the FEL. We then show the existence of a regime of operation of the FEL that can only be described using Quantum Mechanics: if the dimensionless quantum parameter anti {rho} is smaller than 1, then in the 1-dimensional approximation the Hamiltonian that describes the FEL becomes equivalent to the Hamiltonian of a two-level system coupled to a radiation field. We give analytical and numerical solutions for the photon statistics of a Free Electron Laser operating in the quantum regime under various approximations. Since in the quantum regime the momentum of the electrons is discrete, we give a description of the electrons in phase space by introducing the Discrete Wigner Function. We then drop the assumption of a mono-energetic electron beam and describe the general case of a initial electron energy spread G({gamma}). Numerical analysis shows that the FEL quantum regime is observed only when the width of the initial momentum distribution is smaller than the momentum of the emitted photons. Both the analytical results in the linear approximation and the numerical simulations show that only the electrons close to a certain resonant energy start to emit photons. This generates the so-called Hole-burning effect in the electrons energy distribution, as it can be seen in the simulations we provide. Finally, we present a brief discussion about a fundamental uncertainty relation that ties the electron energy spread and the electron bunching. (orig.)

  4. Parametric amplification and cascaded-nonlinearity processes in common atomic system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Huaibin; Zhang, Xun; Zhang, Zhaoyang; Tian, Yaling; Chen, Haixia; Li, Changbiao; Zhang, Yanpeng

    2013-01-01

    For the first time, we study the parametric amplification process of multi-wave mixing (PA-MWM) signal and cascaded-nonlinearity process (CNP) in sodium vapors both theoretically and experimentally, based on a conventional phase-conjugate MWM and a self-diffraction four-wave mixing (SD-FWM) processes, which are pumped by laser or amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), respectively. For laser pumping case, SD-FWM process serves as a quantum linear amplifier (a CNP) out (inside) of the resonant absorption region. While for ASE case, only the CNP occurs and the output linewidth is much narrower than that of the MWM signal due to the second selected effect of its electromagnetically induced transparency window. In addition, the phase-sensitive amplifying process seeded by two MWM processes is discussed for the first time. Theoretical fittings agree well with the experiment. The investigations have important potential applications in quantum communication.

  5. Quantum dot optoelectronic devices: lasers, photodetectors and solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Jiang; Chen, Siming; Seeds, Alwyn; Liu, Huiyun

    2015-01-01

    Nanometre-scale semiconductor devices have been envisioned as next-generation technologies with high integration and functionality. Quantum dots, or the so-called ‘artificial atoms’, exhibit unique properties due to their quantum confinement in all 3D. These unique properties have brought to light the great potential of quantum dots in optoelectronic applications. Numerous efforts worldwide have been devoted to these promising nanomaterials for next-generation optoelectronic devices, such as lasers, photodetectors, amplifiers, and solar cells, with the emphasis on improving performance and functionality. Through the development in optoelectronic devices based on quantum dots over the last two decades, quantum dot devices with exceptional performance surpassing previous devices are evidenced. This review describes recent developments in quantum dot optoelectronic devices over the last few years. The paper will highlight the major progress made in 1.3 μm quantum dot lasers, quantum dot infrared photodetectors, and quantum dot solar cells. (topical review)

  6. Development of aluminum gallium nitride based optoelectronic devices operating in deep UV and terahertz spectrum ranges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei

    In this research project I have investigated AlGaN alloys and their quantum structures for applications in deep UV and terahertz optoelectronic devices. For the deep UV emitter applications the materials and devices were grown by rf plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on 4H-SiC, 6H-SiC and c-plane sapphire substrates. In the growth of AlGaN/AlN multiple quantum wells on SiC substrates, the AlGaN wells were grown under excess Ga, far beyond than what is required for the growth of stoichiometric AlGaN films, which resulted in liquid phase epitaxy growth mode. Due to the statistical variations of the excess Ga on the growth front we found that this growth mode leads to films with lateral variations in the composition and thus, band structure potential fluctuations. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the wells in such structures are not homogeneous but have the appearance of quantum dots. We find by temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements that the multiple quantum wells with band structure potential fluctuations emit at 240 nm and have room temperature internal quantum efficiency as high as 68%. Furthermore, they were found to have a maximum net modal optical gain of 118 cm-1 at a transparency threshold corresponding to 1.4 x 1017 cm-3 excited carriers. We attribute this low transparency threshold to population inversion of only the regions of the potential fluctuations rather than of the entire matrix. Some prototype deep UV emitting LED structures were also grown by the same method on sapphire substrates. Optoelectronic devices for terahertz light emission and detection, based on intersubband transitions in III-nitride semiconductor quantum wells, were grown on single crystal c-plane GaN substrates. Growth conditions such the ratio of group III to active nitrogen fluxes, which determines the appropriate Ga-coverage for atomically smooth growth without requiring growth interruptions were employed. Emitters designed in the quantum cascade

  7. New enhanced sensitivity infrared laser spectroscopy techniques applied to reactive plasmas and trace gas detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Welzel, S.

    2009-01-01

    Infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (IRLAS) employing both tuneable diode and quantum cascade lasers (TDLs, QCLs) has been applied with both high sensitivity and high time resolution to plasma diagnostics and trace gas measurements. TDLAS combined with a conventional White type multiple pass cell

  8. QCL seeded, ns-pulse, multi-line, CO2 laser oscillator for laser-produced-plasma extreme-UV source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowak, Krzysztof Michał; Suganuma, Takashi; Kurosawa, Yoshiaki; Ohta, Takeshi; Kawasuji, Yasufumi; Nakarai, Hiroaki; Saitou, Takashi; Fujimoto, Junichi; Mizoguchi, Hakaru; Sumitani, Akira; Endo, Akira

    2017-01-01

    Successful merger of state-of-the-art, semiconductor quantum-cascade lasers (QCL), with the mature CO2 laser technology, resulted in a delivery of highly-desired qualities of CO2 laser output that were not available previously without much effort. These qualities, such as multi-line operation, excellent spectro-temporal stability and pulse waveform control, became available from a single device of moderate complexity. This paper describes the operation principle and the unique properties of the solid{state seeded CO2 laser, invented for an application in laser-produced-plasma (LPP), extreme-UV (EUV) light source.

  9. Principles of laser spectroscopy and quantum optics

    CERN Document Server

    Berman, Paul R

    2011-01-01

    Principles of Laser Spectroscopy and Quantum Optics is an essential textbook for graduate students studying the interaction of optical fields with atoms. It also serves as an ideal reference text for researchers working in the fields of laser spectroscopy and quantum optics. The book provides a rigorous introduction to the prototypical problems of radiation fields interacting with two- and three-level atomic systems. It examines the interaction of radiation with both atomic vapors and condensed matter systems, the density matrix and the Bloch vector, and applications involving linear absorptio

  10. Narrow-band tunable terahertz emission from ferrimagnetic Mn{sub 3-x}Ga thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Awari, N. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen (Netherlands); Kovalev, S., E-mail: s.kovalev@hzdr.de, E-mail: c.fowley@hzdr.de, E-mail: rodek@tcd.ie; Fowley, C., E-mail: s.kovalev@hzdr.de, E-mail: c.fowley@hzdr.de, E-mail: rodek@tcd.ie; Green, B.; Yildirim, O.; Lindner, J.; Fassbender, J.; Deac, A. M.; Gensch, M. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Rode, K., E-mail: s.kovalev@hzdr.de, E-mail: c.fowley@hzdr.de, E-mail: rodek@tcd.ie; Lau, Y.-C.; Betto, D.; Thiyagarajah, N.; Coey, J. M. D. [CRANN, AMBER and School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2 (Ireland); Gallardo, R. A. [Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Avenida España 1680, 2390123 Valparíso (Chile)

    2016-07-18

    Narrow-band terahertz emission from coherently excited spin precession in metallic ferrimagnetic Mn{sub 3-x}Ga Heusler alloy nanofilms has been observed. The efficiency of the emission, per nanometer film thickness, is comparable or higher than that of classical laser-driven terahertz sources based on optical rectification. The center frequency of the emission from the films can be tuned precisely via the film composition in the range of 0.20–0.35 THz, making this type of metallic film a candidate for efficient on-chip terahertz emitters. Terahertz emission spectroscopy is furthermore shown to be a sensitive probe of magnetic properties of ultra-thin films.

  11. Broadband tunability of gain-flattened quantum-well semiconductor lasers with an external grating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mittelstein, M.; Mehuys, D.; Yariv, A.; Sarfaty, R.; Ungar, J.E.

    1989-01-01

    Semiconductor injection lasers are known to be tunable over a range of order kΒ · T. Quantum-well lasers, in particular, are shown to exhibit flattened, broadband gain spectra at a particular pumping condition. The gain requirement for a grating-tuned external cavity configuration is examined and is applied to a semiconductor quantum-well laser with an optimized length of gain region. The coupled-cavity formalism is employed to examine the conditions for continuous tuning. The possible tuning range of double-heterostructure lasers is compared to that of quantum-well lasers. The predicted broadband tunability of quantum-well lasers is confirmed experimentally by grating-tuning of uncoated lasers exceeding 120 nm, with single, longitudinal mode output power exceeding 300 mW

  12. Optical Remote Sensing for Fence-Line Monitoring using Open-Path Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) mono-static system for multiple target compounds in the Mid IR 7-13um (Fingerprint) region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemek, P. G.

    2017-12-01

    Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) are quickly replacing Tunable Diode Lasers (TDL) for multi-target species identification and quantification in both extractive and open-path (OP) Optical Remote Sensing (ORS) fence-line instrumentation. As was seen with TDL incorporation and pricing drops as the adoption by the telecommunications industry and its current scaling has improved robustness and pricing, the QCL is also, albiet more slowly, becoming a mature market. There are several advantages of QCLs over conventional TDLs such as improved brightness and beam density, high resolution, as well as the incorporation of external etalons or internal gratings to scan over wide spectral areas. QCLs typically operate in the Mid infra-red (MIR) as opposed to the Near-Infrared (NIR) region used with TDL. The MidIR is a target rich absorption band area where compounds have high absorbtivity coefficients resulting in better detection limits as compared to TDL instruments. The use of novel chemometrics and more sensitive non-cryo-cooled detectors has allowed some of the first QCL open-path instruments in both active and passive operation. Data and field studies of one of the newest QCL OP systems is presented that allows one system to measure multiple target compounds. Multiple QCL spectral regions may be stitched together to increase the capability of QCLs over TDL OP systems. A comparison of several ORS type systems will be presented.

  13. Quantum SASE FEL with a Laser Wiggler

    CERN Document Server

    Bonifacio, R

    2005-01-01

    Quantum effects in high-gain FELs become relevant when ρ'=ρ(mcγ/ ћ k)<1. The quantum FEL parameter ρ' rules the maximum number of photons emitted per electrons. It has been shown that when ρ'<1 a "quantum purification" of the SASE regime occurs: in fact, the spectrum of the emitted radiation (randomly spiky in the usual classical SASE regime) shrinks to a very narrow single line, leading to a high degree of temporal coherence. From the definition of ρ it appears that in order to achieve the quantum regime, small values of ρ, beam energy and radiation wavelength are necessary. These requirements can be met only using a laser wiggler. In this work we state the scaling laws necessary to operate a SASE FEL in the Angstrom region. All physical quantities are expressed in terms of the normalized emittance and of two parameters: the ratio between laser and electron beam spot sizes and the ratio between Rayleigh range and electron ...

  14. A Tunable CW Orange Laser Based on a Cascaded MgO:PPLN Single-Pass Sum-Frequency Generation Module

    OpenAIRE

    Dismas K. Choge; Huai-Xi Chen; Bao-Lu Tian; Yi-Bin Xu; Guang-Wei Li; Wan-Guo Liang

    2018-01-01

    We report an all-solid-state continuous wave (CW) tunable orange laser based on cascaded single-pass sum-frequency generation with fundamental wavelengths at 1545.7 and 975.2 nm using two quasi-phase-matched (QPM) MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate (MgO:PPLN) crystals. Up to 10 mW of orange laser is generated in the cascaded module corresponding to a 10.4%/W nonlinear conversion efficiency. The orange output showed a temperature tuning rate of ~0.05 nm/°C, and the beam quality (M2) ...

  15. Low frequency terahertz-induced demagnetization in ferromagnetic nickel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shalaby, Mostafa, E-mail: most.shalaby@gmail.com; Vicario, Carlo, E-mail: carlo.vicario@psi.ch [SwissFEL, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Hauri, Christoph P., E-mail: christoph.hauri@psi.ch [SwissFEL, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2016-05-02

    A laser stimulus at terahertz (THz) frequency is expected to offer superior control over magnetization dynamics compared to an optical pulse, where ultrafast demagnetization is mediated by heat deposition. As a THz field cycle occurs on a timescale similar to the natural speed of spin motions, this can open a path for triggering precessional magnetization motion and ultimately ultrafast magnetic switching by the THz magnetic field component, without quenching. Here, we explore the ultrafast magnetic response of a ferromagnetic nickel thin film excited by a strong (33 MV/cm) terahertz transient in non-resonant conditions. While the magnetic laser pulse component induces ultrafast magnetic precessions, we experimentally found that at high pump fluence, the THz pulse leads to large quenching which dominates the precessional motion by far. Furthermore, degradation of magnetic properties sets in and leads to permanent modifications of the Ni thin film and damage.

  16. Cascaded-focus laser writing of low-loss waveguides in polymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pätzold, Welm M; Reinhardt, Carsten; Demircan, Ayhan; Morgner, Uwe

    2016-03-15

    Waveguide writing in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with femtosecond laser radiation is presented. An adequate refractive index change is induced in the border area below the irradiated focal volume. It supports an almost symmetric fundamental mode with propagation losses down to 0.5  dB/cm, the lowest losses observed so far in this class of materials. The writing process with a cascaded focus is demonstrated to be highly reliable over a large parameter range.

  17. Femtosecond Laser--Pumped Source of Entangled Photons for Quantum Cryptography Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, D.; Donaldson, W.; Sobolewski, R.

    2007-01-01

    We present an experimental setup for generation of entangled-photon pairs via spontaneous parametric down-conversion, based on the femtosecond-pulsed laser. Our entangled-photon source utilizes a 76-MHz-repetition-rate, 100-fs-pulse-width, mode-locked, ultrafast femtosecond laser, which can produce, on average, more photon pairs than a cw laser of an equal pump power. The resulting entangled pairs are counted by a pair of high-quantum-efficiency, single-photon, silicon avalanche photodiodes. Our apparatus s intended as an efficient source/receiver system for the quantum communications and quantum cryptography applications

  18. Double cascade erbium fiber laser at 1.7 µm, 2.7 µm, and 1.6 µm

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schneider, J.; Frerichs, Ch.; Carbonnier, C.; Unrau, U.B.; Pollnau, Markus; Lüthy, W.; Weber, H.P.

    The output power of the erbium laser at 2.7 um (4I11/2 -> 4I13/2) is enhanced due to simultaneous laser action at 1.7 um (4S3/2 -> 4I9/2) and 1.6 um (4I13/2 -> 4I15/2) in an Er3+-doped fluorozirconate fiber. The laser cascade overwhelms the saturation effect for the transition at 2.7 um by

  19. Modelling, Design, Growth and Characterization of Strain Balanced Quantum Cascade Lasers (3-11mum), grown by Gas Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandyopadhyay, Neelanjan

    Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) is a compact room temperature (RT) source of mid-infrared radiation, which can be used for spectroscopic detection of trace amount of chemicals. The mid-infrared spectral range between (3-11 microm), has a dense array of absorption lines of numerous molecules, due to the presence of fundamental vibrational modes. The goal of this thesis can be subdivided into two parts. Firstly, short wavelength QCLs, emitting below 4microm, perform poorly at RT, due to inter-valley Gamma --- L carrier scattering, carrier escape to the continuum, heat removal from the core region at high power density corresponding to short wavelength operation, and large interface scattering due to highly strained materials. Secondly, it is desirable to have a single QCL based source emitting between 6-10microm, which be used to detect multiple molecules having their peak absorptions far apart, inside this spectral range. However, gain bandwidth of a single core QCL is relatively small, so laser emission cannot be tuned over a wide spectral range. This thesis describes the working principle of a QCL based on superlattice transport, rate equations, scattering mechanism, and waveguide design. The choice of the material system for this work and the fundamentals of band structure engineering has been derived. Gas source molecular beam epitaxy - growth optimization and characterization is one of the most important features of this work, especially for short wavelength QCLs, and has been explained in depth. Different strategies for design of active region design of short wavelength QCL and heterogeneous broadband QCL has been explored. The major milestones, of this research was the world's first watt level continuous wave (CW), RT demonstration at 3.76 microm, which was followed by another milestone of the first CW, RT demonstration at 3.39microm and 3.55microm, and finally the elusive result of QCL emitting at CW, RT at a wavelength as short as lambda ~3microm, a record. In

  20. Active Stand-off Detection of Gas Leaks Using a Short Range Hard-target Backscatter Differential Optical Absorption System Based on a Quantum Cascade Laser Transmitter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Adrian; Thomas, Benjamin; Castillo, Paulo; Gross, Barry; Moshary, Fred

    2016-06-01

    Fugitive gas emissions from agricultural or industrial plants and gas pipelines are an important environmental concern as they can contribute to the global increase of greenhouse gas concentration. Moreover, they are also a security and safety concern because of possible risk of fire/explosion or toxicity. This study presents gas concentration measurements using a quantum cascade laser open path system (QCLOPS). The system retrieves the pathaveraged concentration of N2O and CH4 by collecting the backscattered light from a scattering target. The gas concentration measurements have a high temporal resolution (68 ms) and are achieved at sufficient range (up to 40 m, ~ 130 feet) with a detection limit of 2.6 ppm CH4 and 0.4 ppm for N2O. Given these characteristics, this system is promising for mobile/multidirectional remote detection and evaluation of gas leaks. The instrument is monostatic with a tunable QCL emitting at ~ 7.7 μm wavelength range. The backscattered radiation is collected by a Newtonian telescope and focused on an infrared light detector. Puffs of N2O and CH4 are released along the optical path to simulate a gas leak. The measured absorption spectrum is obtained using the thermal intra-pulse frequency chirped DFB QCL and is analyzed to obtain path averaged gas concentrations.

  1. Ho:YLF pumped HBr laser

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Botha, LR

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available , “Optically Pumped Mid-Infrared HBr Laser,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 30(10), 2395–2400 (1994). 2. C. S. Kletecka, N. Campbell, C. R. Jones, J. W. Nicolson, and W. Rudolph, “Cascade Lasing of Molecular HBr in the Four Micron Region Pumped by a Nd:YAG laser...-Infrared Coherent Sources, (European Physical Society 2009) Invited Talk Mo3. 5. C. Bollig, H. J. Strauss, M. J. D. Esser, W. Koen, M.Schellhorn, D. Preussler, K. Nyangaza, C. Jacobs, E. H. Bernardi and L. R. Botha, “Compact Fibre-Laser-Pumped Ho:YLF Oscillator...

  2. Multimode quantum model of a cw atom laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hope, J.J.; Haine, S.A.; Savage, C.M.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: Laser cooling allows dilute atomic gases to be cooled to within K of absolute zero. Ultracold gases were first achieved twenty years ago and have since found applications in areas such as spectroscopy, time standards, frequency standards, quantum information processing and atom optics. The atomic analogue of the lasing mode in optical lasers is Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC), in which a cooled sample of atoms condense into the lowest energy quantum state. This new state of matter was recently achieved in dilute Bose gases in 1995. Atoms coupled out of a BEC exhibit long-range spatial coherence, and provide the coldest atomic source currently available. These atomic sources are called 'atom lasers' because the BEC is analogous to the lasing mode of an optical laser. The high spectral flux from optical lasers is caused by a process called gain-narrowing, which requires continuous wave (cw) operation. Coupling a BEC quickly into an untrapped state forms a coherent atomic beam but it has a spread in momentum as large as the trapped BEC. Coupling the atoms out more slowly reduces the output linewidth at the expense of reducing the overall flux. These atom lasers are equivalent to Q-switched optical lasers. A cw atom laser with gain-narrowing would produce an increasingly monoenergetic output as the flux increased, dramatically improving the spectral flux. A cw atom laser is therefore a major goal of the atom optics community, but there are several theoretical and practical obstacles to understanding the complexities of such a system. The main obstacle to the production of a cw atom laser is the technical difficulties involved in continuously pumping the lasing mode. No complete theory exists which describes a cw atom laser. Complete cw atom laser models require a quantum field description due to their non-Markovian dynamics, significant spatial effects and the dependence of the output on the quantum statistics of the lasing mode. The extreme dimensionality

  3. Terahertz radiation driven by two-color laser pulses at near-relativistic intensities: Competition between photoionization and wakefield effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    González de Alaiza Martínez, P.; Davoine, X.; Debayle, A.; Gremillet, L.; Bergé, L.

    2016-01-01

    We numerically investigate terahertz (THz) pulse generation by linearly-polarized, two-color femtosecond laser pulses in highly-ionized argon. Major processes consist of tunneling photoionization and ponderomotive forces associated with transverse and longitudinal field excitations. By means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we reveal the importance of photocurrent mechanisms besides transverse and longitudinal plasma waves for laser intensities >1015 W/cm2. We demonstrate the following. (i) With two-color pulses, photoionization prevails in the generation of GV/m THz fields up to 1017 W/cm2 laser intensities and suddenly loses efficiency near the relativistic threshold, as the outermost electron shell of ionized Ar atoms has been fully depleted. (ii) PIC results can be explained by a one-dimensional Maxwell-fluid model and its semi-analytical solutions, offering the first unified description of the main THz sources created in plasmas. (iii) The THz power emitted outside the plasma channel mostly originates from the transverse currents. PMID:27255689

  4. Physics of strained quantum well lasers

    CERN Document Server

    Loehr, John P

    1998-01-01

    When this publisher offered me the opportunity to \\\\Tite a book, some six years ago, I did not hesitate to say yes. I had just spent the last four years of graduate school struggling to understand the physics of strained quantum well lasers, and it seemed to me the whole experience was much more difficult that it should have been. For although many of the results I needed were easy to locate, the underlying physical premises and intervening steps were not. If only I had a book providing the derivations, I could have absorbed them and gone on my way. Such a book lies before you. It provides a unified and self-contained descrip­ tion of the essential physics of strained quantum well lasers, starting from first principles whenever feasible. The presentation I have chosen requires only the standard introductory background in quantum mechanics, solid state physics, and electromagnetics expected of entering graduate students in physics or elec­ trical engineering. A single undergraduate course in each of these su...

  5. Femtosecond laser writing of a flat-top interleaver via cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Jason C; Li, Chengbo; Herman, Peter R; Qian, Li

    2012-07-30

    A flat-top interleaver consisting of cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) was fabricated in bulk glass by femtosecond laser direct writing. Spectral contrast ratios of greater than 15 dB were demonstrated over a 30 nm bandwidth for 3 nm channel spacing. The observed spectral response agreed well with a standard transfer matrix model generated from responses of individual optical components, demonstrating the possibility for multi-component optical design as well as sufficient process accuracy and fabrication consistency for femtosecond laser writing of advanced optical circuits in three dimensions.

  6. Terahertz Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) Imaging With a Quantum Cascade Laser Transmitter

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    shown in Fig. 3 as compared to the frequency stability of the locked THz QCL, reported in Ref. 13. However, phase noise is not only a consequence of...a) photograph of a Boston Marathon medal, (b) 2.4 THz az/el image of the medal. The words “Boston Athletic Association” and the unicorn are well

  7. Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Sensors for Hypersonic Flows (7274-050), Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Ground test facilities are used by NASA to simulate the conditions present during flight at hypersonic velocities, to test thermal protection materials for existing...

  8. Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Sensors for Hypersonic Flows (7275-020), Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to design, build, test, and deliver to NASA a THz wavelength absorption sensor for continuous monitoring of atomic oxygen...

  9. Plasma characterization using terahertz-wave-enhanced fluorescence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Jingle; Zhang, X.-C.

    2010-01-01

    We demonstrate that the terahertz-wave-enhanced fluorescence emission from excited atoms or molecules can be employed in the characterization of laser-induced gas plasmas. The electron relaxation time and plasma density were deduced through applying the electron impact excitation/ionization and electron-ion recombination processes to the measured time-dependent enhanced fluorescence. The electron collision dynamics of nitrogen plasma excited at different gas pressures and laser pulse energies have been systematically investigated. This plasma characterization method provides picosecond temporal resolution and enables omnidirectional optical signal collection.

  10. All passive architecture for high efficiency cascaded Raman conversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaswamy, V.; Arun, S.; Chayran, G.; Supradeepa, V. R.

    2018-02-01

    Cascaded Raman fiber lasers have offered a convenient method to obtain scalable, high-power sources at various wavelength regions inaccessible with rare-earth doped fiber lasers. A limitation previously was the reduced efficiency of these lasers. Recently, new architectures have been proposed to enhance efficiency, but this came at the cost of enhanced complexity, requiring an additional low-power, cascaded Raman laser. In this work, we overcome this with a new, all-passive architecture for high-efficiency cascaded Raman conversion. We demonstrate our architecture with a fifth-order cascaded Raman converter from 1117nm to 1480nm with output power of ~64W and efficiency of 60%.

  11. Terahertz Coherent Synchrotron Radiation from Femtosecond Laser Modulation of the Electron Beam at the Advanced Light Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byrd, John M.; Hao, Zhao; Martin, Michael C.; Robin, David S.; Sannibale, Fernando; Schoenlein, Robert W.; Zholents, Alexander A.; Zolotorev, Max S.

    2005-01-01

    At the Advanced Light Source (ALS), the ''femtoslicing'' beamline is in operation since 1999 for the production of x-ray synchrotron radiation pulses with femtosecond duration. The mechanism used for generating the short x-ray pulses induces at the same time temporary structures in the electron bunch longitudinal distribution with very short characteristic length. Such structures emit intense coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) in the terahertz frequency range. These CSR pulses were first observed at the ALS, and the measurement of their intensity is now routinely used as a diagnostics for the tune-up of the femtoslicing x-ray experiments. At the same time, these CSR pulses synchronous with the modulating laser, represent a potential source of terahertz radiation with very interesting features. Several measurements have been performed for their characterization and in this paper we present an updated description of the experimental results and of their interpretation. In particular, we include more data on the interesting interaction, previously observed at the ALS, between the slicing and the microbunching instability (MBI), where under particular circumstances, the slicing seems to trigger the onset of the instability

  12. A cascadic monotonic time-discretized algorithm for finite-level quantum control computation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditz, P.; Borzi`, A.

    2008-03-01

    A computer package (CNMS) is presented aimed at the solution of finite-level quantum optimal control problems. This package is based on a recently developed computational strategy known as monotonic schemes. Quantum optimal control problems arise in particular in quantum optics where the optimization of a control representing laser pulses is required. The purpose of the external control field is to channel the system's wavefunction between given states in its most efficient way. Physically motivated constraints, such as limited laser resources, are accommodated through appropriately chosen cost functionals. Program summaryProgram title: CNMS Catalogue identifier: ADEB_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADEB_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 770 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 7098 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: MATLAB 6 Computer: AMD Athlon 64 × 2 Dual, 2:21 GHz, 1:5 GB RAM Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Word size: 32 Classification: 4.9 Nature of problem: Quantum control Solution method: Iterative Running time: 60-600 sec

  13. Optoelectronic device physics and technology of nitride semiconductors from the UV to the terahertz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moustakas, Theodore D.; Paiella, Roberto

    2017-10-01

    This paper reviews the device physics and technology of optoelectronic devices based on semiconductors of the GaN family, operating in the spectral regions from deep UV to Terahertz. Such devices include LEDs, lasers, detectors, electroabsorption modulators and devices based on intersubband transitions in AlGaN quantum wells (QWs). After a brief history of the development of the field, we describe how the unique crystal structure, chemical bonding, and resulting spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations in heterostructures affect the design, fabrication and performance of devices based on these materials. The heteroepitaxial growth and the formation and role of extended defects are addressed. The role of the chemical bonding in the formation of metallic contacts to this class of materials is also addressed. A detailed discussion is then presented on potential origins of the high performance of blue LEDs and poorer performance of green LEDs (green gap), as well as of the efficiency reduction of both blue and green LEDs at high injection current (efficiency droop). The relatively poor performance of deep-UV LEDs based on AlGaN alloys and methods to address the materials issues responsible are similarly addressed. Other devices whose state-of-the-art performance and materials-related issues are reviewed include violet-blue lasers, ‘visible blind’ and ‘solar blind’ detectors based on photoconductive and photovoltaic designs, and electroabsorption modulators based on bulk GaN or GaN/AlGaN QWs. Finally, we describe the basic physics of intersubband transitions in AlGaN QWs, and their applications to near-infrared and terahertz devices.

  14. Numerical Investigation of Terahertz Emission Properties of Microring Difference-Frequency Resonators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iwaszczuk, Krzysztof; Bisgaard, Christer Zoffmann; Andronico, Alessio

    2013-01-01

    We investigate the electromagnetic design of whispering gallery mode (WGM) terahertz (THz) resonators. Terahertz radiation is generated by difference-frequency mixing of two electrically pumped high-order near-infrared laser WGM's at room temperature in the active cavity. Due to the leaky nature...... this symmetry by modification of the dielectric environment of the resonator, and demonstrate a fabrication-optimized structure based on a concentric grating design which efficiently couples the emitted radiation into a narrow, near-gaussian forward-propagating cone of well-defined linear or circular...

  15. Intense laser field effects on a Woods-Saxon potential quantum well

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restrepo, R. L.; Morales, A. L.; Akimov, V.; Tulupenko, V.; Kasapoglu, E.; Ungan, F.; Duque, C. A.

    2015-11-01

    This paper presents the results of the theoretical study of the effects of non-resonant intense laser field and electric and magnetic fields on the optical properties in an quantum well (QW) make with Woods-Saxon potential profile. The electric field and intense laser field are applied along the growth direction of the Woods-Saxon quantum well and the magnetic field is oriented perpendicularly. To calculate the energy and the wave functions of the electron in the Woods-Saxon quantum well, the effective mass approximation and the method of envelope wave function are used. The confinement in the Woods-Saxon quantum well is changed drastically by the application of intense laser field or either the effect of electric and magnetic fields. The optical properties are calculated using the compact density matrix.

  16. Solid state lasers: a major direction in quantum electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shcherbakov, I.A.

    2004-01-01

    The aim of the report is to analyze development of solid-state lasers (SSL) as one of the most important avenues of the quantum electronics. The obtained intensity of a laser radiation at the focus equal to 5x10 1 0 W/cm 2 (the field intensity equal to about 5x10 1 0 V/cm 2 ) is noted to enable to observe nonlinear quantum- electrodynamic effects. Besides, one managed to increase the SSL efficiency conventionally equal to maximum 3% up to 48-50%. Paper describes new types of SSLs, namely, the crystalline fiber lasers with the lateral gradient of the index of refraction [ru

  17. Recent advances in long wavelength quantum dot lasers and amplifiers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nötzel, R.; Bente, E.A.J.M.; Smit, M.K.; Dorren, H.J.S.

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate 1.55-µm InAs/InGaAsP/InP (100) quantum dot (QD) shallow and deep etched Fabry-Pérot and ring lasers, micro-ring lasers, mode-locked lasers, Butt-joint integrated lasers, polarization control of gain, and wavelength conversion in QD amplifiers.

  18. Double Tunneling Injection Quantum Dot Lasers for High Speed Operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-23

    Double Tunneling-Injection Quantum Dot Lasers for High -Speed Operation The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of...SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12. DISTRIBUTION AVAILIBILITY STATEMENT 6...State University Title: Double Tunneling-Injection Quantum Dot Lasers for High -Speed Operation Report Term: 0-Other Email: asryan@vt.edu Distribution

  19. Terahertz time domain interferometry of a SIS tunnel junction and a quantum point contact

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karadi, Chandu [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics

    1995-09-01

    The author has applied the Terahertz Time Domain Interferometric (THz-TDI) technique to probe the ultrafast dynamic response of a Superconducting-Insulating-Superconducting (SIS) tunnel junction and a Quantum Point Contact (QPC). The THz-TDI technique involves monitoring changes in the dc current induced by interfering two picosecond electrical pulses on the junction as a function of time delay between them. Measurements of the response of the Nb/AlOxNb SIS tunnel junction from 75--200 GHz are in full agreement with the linear theory for photon-assisted tunneling. Likewise, measurements of the induced current in a QPC as a function of source-drain voltage, gate voltage, frequency, and magnetic field also show strong evidence for photon-assisted transport. These experiments together demonstrate the general applicability of the THz-TDI technique to the characterization of the dynamic response of any micron or nanometer scale device that exhibits a non-linear I-V characteristic.

  20. Terahertz time domain interferometry of a SIS tunnel junction and a quantum point contact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karadi, C.; Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA

    1995-09-01

    The author has applied the Terahertz Time Domain Interferometric (THz-TDI) technique to probe the ultrafast dynamic response of a Superconducting-Insulating-Superconducting (SIS) tunnel junction and a Quantum Point Contact (QPC). The THz-TDI technique involves monitoring changes in the dc current induced by interfering two picosecond electrical pulses on the junction as a function of time delay between them. Measurements of the response of the Nb/AlO x /Nb SIS tunnel junction from 75--200 GHz are in full agreement with the linear theory for photon-assisted tunneling. Likewise, measurements of the induced current in a QPC as a function of source-drain voltage, gate voltage, frequency, and magnetic field also show strong evidence for photon-assisted transport. These experiments together demonstrate the general applicability of the THz-TDI technique to the characterization of the dynamic response of any micron or nanometer scale device that exhibits a non-linear I-V characteristic. 133 refs., 49 figs

  1. Terahertz detectors using hot-electrons in superconducting films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Semenov, A. [DLR, Inst. of Planetary Research, Berlin (Germany)

    2007-07-01

    Recently the terahertz gap has been recognized as a prospective spectral range for radioastronomy as well as for material and security studies. Implementation of terahertz technology in these fields requires further improvement of instruments and their major subcomponents. Physical phenomena associated with the local and homogeneous non-equilibrium electron sates in thin superconducting films offer numerous possibilities for the development of terahertz and infrared detectors. Depending on the nature of the resistive state and the operation regime, a variety of detector can be realized. They are e.g. direct bolometric or kinetic inductance detectors, heterodyne mixers or photon counters. Operation principles and physical limitations of these devices will be discussed. Two examples of the detector development made in cooperation between the German Aerospace Center, the University of Karlsruhe and PTB, Berlin will be presented. The energy resolving single-photon detector with an almost fundamentally limited energy resolution of 0.6 eV at 6.5 K for photons with wavelengths from 400 nm to 2500 nm and the heterodyne mixer quasioptically coupled to radiation in the frequency range from 0.8 THz to 5 THz and providing a noise temperature of less then ten times the quantum limit. The mixers will be implemented in the terahertz radar for security screening (TERASEC) and in the heterodyne receiver of the stratospheric observatory SOFIA. (orig.)

  2. Whispering-gallery mode microcavity quantum-dot lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kryzhanovskaya, N V; Maximov, M V; Zhukov, A E

    2014-01-01

    This review examines axisymmetric-cavity quantum-dot microlasers whose emission spectrum is determined by whisperinggallery modes. We describe the possible designs, fabrication processes and basic characteristics of the microlasers and demonstrate the possibility of lasing at temperatures above 100 °C. The feasibility of creating multichannel optical sources based on a combination of a broadband quantum-dot laser and silicon microring modulators is discussed. (review)

  3. Cascade conical refraction for annular pumping of a vortex Nd:YAG laser and selective excitation of low- and high-order Laguerre–Gaussian modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yongxiao; Wang, Zhongyang; Chen, Sanbin; Shirakwa, Akira; Ueda, Ken-ichi; Li, Jianlang

    2018-05-01

    We proposed an efficient and vortex Nd:YAG laser for selective lasing of low- and high-order vortex modes, in which multiple-ring pump light was originated from cascaded conical refraction of multiple biaxial crystals. In our proof of concept demonstration, we used two-crystal cascade conical refraction to generate two-ring pump light; the mutual intensity ratio and relative separation of the inner ring and outer ring were controlled by rotating the second biaxial crystal and by moving the imaging lens, respectively. As a result, we obtained selective excitation of Laguerre–Gaussian (LG01 and LG03) vortex modes in the end-pump Nd:YAG laser. For LG01-mode output, the laser power reached 439 mW with 52.5% slope efficiency; for LG03-mode output, the laser power reached 160 mW with 41.3% slope efficiency. Our results revealed that the multiple-ring pumping technique based on cascaded conical refraction would pave the way for realization of the efficient and switchable excitation of low- and high-order LG modes in an end-pumped solid-state laser.

  4. Generation of surface electromagnetic waves in terahertz spectral range by free-electron laser radiation and their refractive index determination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogomolov, G.D.; Jeong, Uk Young; Zhizhin, G.N.; Nikitin, A.K.; Zavyalov, V.V.; Kazakevich, G.M.; Lee, Byung Cheol

    2005-01-01

    First experiments for observation of surface electromagnetic waves (SEW) in the terahertz spectral range generated on dense aluminum films covering the optical quality glass plates are presented in this paper. Coherent radiation of the new free-electron laser covering the frequency range from 30 to 100cm -1 was used. The interference technique employing SEW propagation in the part of one shoulder of the asymmetric interferometer was applied. From the interference pattern the real part of SEW's effective refractive index ae ' was determined for the two laser emission wavelengths: at λ=150μm-ae ' =1+5x10 -5 , at λ=110μm-ae ' =1+8x10 -4 . High sensitivity of the interference patterns to overlayers made of Ge and Si with thickness of 100nm was demonstrated as well

  5. Nonlinear laser dynamics from quantum dots to cryptography

    CERN Document Server

    Lüdge, Kathy

    2012-01-01

    A distinctive discussion of the nonlinear dynamical phenomena of semiconductor lasers. The book combines recent results of quantum dot laser modeling with mathematical details and an analytic understanding of nonlinear phenomena in semiconductor lasers and points out possible applications of lasers in cryptography and chaos control. This interdisciplinary approach makes it a unique and powerful source of knowledge for anyone intending to contribute to this field of research.By presenting both experimental and theoretical results, the distinguished authors consider solitary lase

  6. High-order sideband generation in a semiconductor quantum well driven by two orthogonal terahertz fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Jie-Yun

    2017-08-01

    The theory of excitonic high-order sideband generation (HSG) in a semiconductor quantum well irradiated by two orthogonal terahertz (THz) fields (one frequency is an integral multiple of the other) is presented. The exact analytical solution to the sideband spectrum is given with the help of the generalized Bessel functions. As a special case, the HSG when the frequencies of these two THz fields are the same is derived and its dependence on the ellipticity of the THz field is discussed. The theory could explain the experiments, especially concerning the sensitive dependence of HSG signals on the ellipticity of the THz field: the signals are strong when the THz field has a linear polarization and totally vanish in case of a circular polarization. More interestingly, it was found that the strongest signal is not produced in the case of linear polarization for some sidebands. The theory is supported by numerical calculations.

  7. Optically pumped terahertz sources

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHONG Kai; SHI Wei; XU DeGang; LIU PengXiang; WANG YuYe; MEI JiaLin; YAN Chao; FU ShiJie; YAO JianQuan

    2017-01-01

    High-power terahertz (THz) generation in the frequency range of0.1-10 THz has been a fast-developing research area ever since the beginning of the THz boom two decades ago,enabling new technological breakthroughs in spectroscopy,communication,imaging,etc.By using optical (laser) pumping methods with near-or mid-infrared (IR) lasers,flexible and practical THz sources covering the whole THz range can be realized to overcome the shortage of electronic THz sources and now they are playing important roles in THz science and technology.This paper overviews various optically pumped THz sources,including femtosecond laser based ultrafast broadband THz generation,monochromatic widely tunable THz generation,single-mode on-chip THz source from photomixing,and the traditional powerful THz gas lasers.Full descriptions from basic principles to the latest progress are presented and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed as well.It is expected that this review gives a comprehensive reference to researchers in this area and additionally helps newcomers to quickly gain understanding of optically pumped THz sources.

  8. Elimination of Bimodal Size in InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots for Preparation of 1.3-μm Quantum Dot Lasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Xiang-Bin; Ding, Ying; Ma, Ben; Zhang, Ke-Lu; Chen, Ze-Sheng; Li, Jing-Lun; Cui, Xiao-Ran; Xu, Ying-Qiang; Ni, Hai-Qiao; Niu, Zhi-Chuan

    2018-02-21

    The device characteristics of semiconductor quantum dot lasers have been improved with progress in active layer structures. Self-assembly formed InAs quantum dots grown on GaAs had been intensively promoted in order to achieve quantum dot lasers with superior device performances. In the process of growing high-density InAs/GaAs quantum dots, bimodal size occurs due to large mismatch and other factors. The bimodal size in the InAs/GaAs quantum dot system is eliminated by the method of high-temperature annealing and optimized the in situ annealing temperature. The annealing temperature is taken as the key optimization parameters, and the optimal annealing temperature of 680 °C was obtained. In this process, quantum dot growth temperature, InAs deposition, and arsenic (As) pressure are optimized to improve quantum dot quality and emission wavelength. A 1.3-μm high-performance F-P quantum dot laser with a threshold current density of 110 A/cm 2 was demonstrated.

  9. Detection of Terahertz Radiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2015-01-01

    The present invention relates to a system for detecting terahertz radiation, a camera device, and a method for detecting terahertz radiation.......The present invention relates to a system for detecting terahertz radiation, a camera device, and a method for detecting terahertz radiation....

  10. Strong terahertz field generation, detection, and application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ki-Yong [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

    2016-05-22

    This report describes the generation and detection of high-power, broadband terahertz (THz) radiation with using femtosecond terawatt (TW) laser systems. In particular, this focuses on two-color laser mixing in gases as a scalable THz source, addressing both microscopic and macroscopic effects governing its output THz yield and radiation profile. This also includes the characterization of extremely broad THz spectra extending from microwaves to infrared frequencies. Experimentally, my group has generated high-energy (tens of microjoule), intense (>8 MV/cm), and broadband (0.01~60 THz) THz radiation in two-color laser mixing in air. Such an intense THz field can be utilized to study THz-driven extremely nonlinear phenomena in a university laboratory.

  11. Strong terahertz field generation, detection, and application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ki-Yong [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

    2016-05-15

    This report describes the generation and detection of high-power, broadband terahertz (THz) radiation with using femtosecond terawatt (TW) laser systems. In particular, this focuses on two-color laser mixing in gases as a scalable THz source, addressing both microscopic and macroscopic effects governing its output THz yield and radiation profile. This also includes the characterization of extremely broad THz spectra extending from microwaves to infrared frequencies. Experimentally, my group has generated high-energy (tens of microjoule), intense (>8 MV/cm), and broadband (0.01~60 THz) THz radiation in two-color laser mixing in air. Such an intense THz field can be utilized to study THz-driven extremely nonlinear phenomena in a university laboratory.

  12. Experimental study of a quantum random-number generator based on two independent lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Shi-Hai; Xu, Feihu

    2017-12-01

    A quantum random-number generator (QRNG) can produce true randomness by utilizing the inherent probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics. Recently, the spontaneous-emission quantum phase noise of the laser has been widely deployed for quantum random-number generation, due to its high rate, its low cost, and the feasibility of chip-scale integration. Here, we perform a comprehensive experimental study of a phase-noise-based QRNG with two independent lasers, each of which operates in either continuous-wave (CW) or pulsed mode. We implement the QRNG by operating the two lasers in three configurations, namely, CW + CW, CW + pulsed, and pulsed + pulsed, and demonstrate their trade-offs, strengths, and weaknesses.

  13. New cascade laser transitions in CH2F2 pumped with the 9R32 line of a cw CO2 laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nieswand, C.

    1991-11-01

    New cascade laser transitions of 12 CH 2 F 2 at 172.50μm, 208.83μm, 220.44μm, 223.99μm,and 250.61μm are reported. A waveguide FIR laser was pumped with a quasi cw 12 C 16 O 2 laser operating on the 9R32 line. Together with the already known lines at 184.3μm, 196.1μm and 235.9μm, the laser lines can be assigned to rotational transitions in the ν 9 vibrational band of 12 CH 2 F 2 and to refill transitions of the vibrational ground state ν 0 . 1 fig., 2 tabs., 6 refs. (author)

  14. Stationary self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam in relativistic thermal quantum plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patil, S. D.; Takale, M. V.

    2013-01-01

    In the present paper, we have employed the quantum dielectric response in thermal quantum plasma to model relativistic self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam in a plasma. We have presented an extensive parametric investigation of the dependence of beam-width parameter on distance of propagation in relativistic thermal quantum plasma. We have studied the role of Fermi temperature in the phenomenon of self-focusing. It is found that the quantum effects cause much higher oscillations of beam-width parameter and better relativistic focusing of laser beam in thermal quantum plasma in comparison with that in the relativistic cold quantum plasma and classical relativistic plasma. Our computations show more reliable results in comparison to the previous works

  15. Frequency doubling of an InGaAs multiple quantum wells semiconductor disk laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lidan, Jiang; Renjiang, Zhu; Maohua, Jiang; Dingke, Zhang; Yuting, Cui; Peng, Zhang; Yanrong, Song

    2018-01-01

    We demonstrate a good beam quality 483 nm blue coherent radiation from a frequency doubled InGaAs multiple quantum wells semiconductor disk laser. The gain chip is consisted of 6 repeats of strain uncompensated InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and 25 pairs of GaAs/AlAs distributed Bragg reflector. A 4 × 4 × 7 mm3 type I phase-matched BBO nonlinear crystal is used in a V-shaped laser cavity for the second harmonic generation, and 210 mW blue output power is obtained when the absorbed pump power is 3.5 W. The M2 factors of the laser beam in x and y directions are about 1.04 and 1.01, respectively. The output power of the blue laser is limited by the relatively small number of the multiple quantum wells, and higher power can be expected by increasing the number of the multiple quantum wells and improving the heat management of the laser.

  16. Online terahertz thickness measurement in films and coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duling, Irl N.; White, Jeffrey S.

    2017-02-01

    Pulsed terahertz systems are currently being deployed for online process control and quality control of multi-layered products for use in the building products and aerospace industries. While many laboratory applications of terahertz can allow waveforms to be acquired at rates of 1 - 40 Hz, online applications require measurement rates of in excess of 100Hz. The existing technologies of thickness measurement (nuclear, x-ray, or laser gauges) have rates between 100 and 1000 Hz. At these rates, the single waveform bandwidth must still remain at 2THz or above to allow thinner layers to be measured. In the applications where terahertz can provide unique capability (e.g. multi-layer thickness, delamination, density) long-term stability must be guaranteed within the tolerance required by the measurement. This can mean multi-day stability of less than a micron. The software that runs on these systems must be flexible enough to allow multiple product configurations, while maintaining the simplicity required by plant operators. The final requirement is to have systems that can withstand the environmental conditions of the measurement. This might mean qualification in explosive environments, or operation in hot, wet or dusty environments. All of these requirements can put restrictions on not only the voltage of electronic circuitry used, but also the wavelength and optical power used for the transmitter and receiver. The application of terahertz systems to online process control presents unique challenges that not only effect the physical design of the system, but can also effect the choices made on the terahertz technology itself.

  17. Quantum dots for lasers, amplifiers and computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bimberg, Dieter

    2005-01-01

    For InAs-GaAs based quantum dot lasers emitting at 1300 nm, digital modulation showing an open eye pattern up to 12 Gb s -1 at room temperature is demonstrated, at 10 Gb s -1 the bit error rate is below 10 -12 at -2 dB m receiver power. Cut-off frequencies up to 20 GHz are realised for lasers emitting at 1.1 μm. Passively mode-locked QD lasers generate optical pulses with repetition frequencies between 5 and 50 GHz, with a minimum Fourier limited pulse length of 3 ps. The uncorrelated jitter is below 1 ps. We use here deeply etched narrow ridge waveguide structures which show excellent performance similar to shallow mesa structures, but a circular far field at a ridge width of 1 μm, improving coupling efficiency into fibres. No beam filamentation of the fundamental mode, low a-factors and strongly reduced sensitivity to optical feedback are observed. QD lasers are thus superior to QW lasers for any system or network. Quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier (QD SOAs) demonstrate gain recovery times of 120-140 fs, 4-7 times faster than bulk/QW SOAs, and a net gain larger than 0.4 dB/(mm*QD-layer) providing us with novel types of booster amplifiers and Mach-Zehnder interferometers. These breakthroughs became possible due to systematic development of self-organized growth technologies

  18. The quantum mechanical analysis of the free electron laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dattoli, G.; Renieri, A.

    1985-01-01

    A quantum analysis of the Free Electron Laser is presented. The theory is developed both in single and longitudinal multimode regimes. Finally a self-consistent procedure to study the growth of the laser signal from the vacuum to the macroscopic level is presented

  19. Optical response in a laser-driven quantum pseudodot system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilic, D. Gul [Physics Department, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, 35390 Izmir (Turkey); Sakiroglu, S., E-mail: serpil.sakiroglu@deu.edu.tr [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Dokuz Eylül University, 35390 Izmir (Turkey); Ungan, F.; Yesilgul, U. [Department of Optical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas (Turkey); Kasapoglu, E. [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas (Turkey); Sari, H. [Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, Cumhuriyet University, 58140 Sivas (Turkey); Sokmen, I. [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Dokuz Eylül University, 35390 Izmir (Turkey)

    2017-03-15

    We investigate theoretically the intense laser-induced optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes in a two-dimensional quantum pseudodot system under an uniform magnetic field. The effects of non-resonant, monochromatic intense laser field upon the system are treated within the framework of high-frequency Floquet approach in which the system is supposed to be governed by a laser-dressed potential. Linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients and relative changes in the refractive index are obtained by means of the compact-density matrix approach and iterative method. The results of numerical calculations for a typical GaAs quantum dot reveal that the optical response depends strongly on the magnitude of external magnetic field and characteristic parameters of the confinement potential. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the intense laser field modifies the confinement and thereby causes remarkable changes in the linear and nonlinear optical properties of the system.

  20. Optical response in a laser-driven quantum pseudodot system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilic, D. Gul; Sakiroglu, S.; Ungan, F.; Yesilgul, U.; Kasapoglu, E.; Sari, H.; Sokmen, I.

    2017-01-01

    We investigate theoretically the intense laser-induced optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes in a two-dimensional quantum pseudodot system under an uniform magnetic field. The effects of non-resonant, monochromatic intense laser field upon the system are treated within the framework of high-frequency Floquet approach in which the system is supposed to be governed by a laser-dressed potential. Linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients and relative changes in the refractive index are obtained by means of the compact-density matrix approach and iterative method. The results of numerical calculations for a typical GaAs quantum dot reveal that the optical response depends strongly on the magnitude of external magnetic field and characteristic parameters of the confinement potential. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the intense laser field modifies the confinement and thereby causes remarkable changes in the linear and nonlinear optical properties of the system.

  1. Quantum Dot Laser for a Light Source of an Athermal Silicon Optical Interposer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuaki Hatori

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a hybrid integrated light source fabricated on a silicon platform using a 1.3 μm wavelength quantum dot array laser. Temperature insensitive characteristics up to 120 °C were achieved by the optimum quantum dot structure and laser structure. Light output power was obtained that was high enough to achieve an optical error-free link of a silicon optical interposer. Furthermore, we investigated a novel spot size convertor in a silicon waveguide suitable for a quantum dot laser for lower energy cost operation of the optical interposer.

  2. Frequency-dependent absorbance of broadband terahertz wave in dense plasma sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Yan; Qi, Binbin; Jiang, Xiankai; Zhu, Zhi; Zhao, Hongwei; Zhu, Yiming

    2018-05-01

    Due to the ability of accurate fingerprinting and low-ionization for different substances, terahertz (THz) technology has a lot of crucial applications in material analysis, information transfer, and safety inspection, etc. However, the spectral characteristic of atmospheric gas and ionized gas has not been widely investigated, which is important for the remote sensing application. Here, in this paper, we investigate the absorbance of broadband terahertz wave in dense plasma sheet generated by femtosecond laser pulses. It was found that as the terahertz wave transmits through the plasma sheet formed, respectively, in carbon dioxide, oxygen, argon and nitrogen, spectrum presents completely different and frequency-dependent absorbance. The reasons for these absorption peaks are related to the molecular polarity, electric charge, intermolecular and intramolecular interactions, and collisional absorption of gas molecules. These results have significant implications for the remote sensing of gas medium.

  3. Signatures of quantum radiation reaction in laser-electron-beam collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, H. Y.; Yan, X. Q.; Zepf, M.

    2015-01-01

    Electron dynamics in the collision of an electron beam with a high-intensity focused ultrashort laser pulse are investigated using three-dimensional QED particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, and the results are compared with those calculated by classical Landau and Lifshitz PIC simulations. Significant differences are observed from the angular dependence of the electron energy distribution patterns for the two different approaches, because photon emission is no longer well approximated by a continuous process in the quantum radiation-dominated regime. The stochastic nature of photon emission results in strong signatures of quantum radiation-reaction effects under certain conditions. We show that the laser spot size and duration greatly influence these signatures due to the competition of QED effects and the ponderomotive force, which is well described in the classical approximation. The clearest signatures of quantum radiation reaction are found in the limit of large laser spots and few cycle pulse durations

  4. Transmission of terahertz radiation by anisotropic MWCNT/polystyrene composite films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okotrub, A.V.; Bulusheva, L.G. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, SB RAS, 3 Acad. Lavrentiev Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State Technical University, 20 Karl Marx Ave., 630092 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Kubarev, V.V. [Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, SB RAS, 11 Acad. Lavrentiev Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State University, 2 Pirogova st., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Kanygin, M.A.; Sedelnikova, O.V. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, SB RAS, 3 Acad. Lavrentiev Ave., 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

    2011-11-15

    Anisotropic composite materials have been prepared by repeated forge rolling of polystyrene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with length of {proportional_to}65 {mu}m. Transmission spectra of the composites were recorded for two different polarizations of the electric field. Obtained data indicated that the forge rolling resulted in a predominant orientation of CNTs in polymer matrix. Anisotropic response of the composites was measured at 130 {mu}m wavelength on the Novosibirsk terahertz free electron laser and angular dependence of the transmitted light was determined. Absorption spectrum showed no strong resonance features and it was interpreted by CNTs breaking and agglomeration of CNT fragments during the composite fabrication procedure. Based on classical theory of scattering, considered the scatters as electromagnetic antennas, the size distribution of CNTs in composites was found. Anisotropy of terahertz radiation transmitted from MWCNT/polystyrene composite film on the Novosibirsk free electron laser at 130 {mu}m wavelength. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  5. Gravitational wave detection using laser interferometry beyond the standard quantum limit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heurs, M.

    2018-05-01

    Interferometric gravitational wave detectors (such as advanced LIGO) employ high-power solid-state lasers to maximize their detection sensitivity and hence their reach into the universe. These sophisticated light sources are ultra-stabilized with regard to output power, emission frequency and beam geometry; this is crucial to obtain low detector noise. However, even when all laser noise is reduced as far as technically possible, unavoidable quantum noise of the laser still remains. This is a consequence of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the basis of quantum mechanics: in this case, it is fundamentally impossible to simultaneously reduce both the phase noise and the amplitude noise of a laser to arbitrarily low levels. This fact manifests in the detector noise budget as two distinct noise sources-photon shot noise and quantum radiation pressure noise-which together form a lower boundary for current-day gravitational wave detector sensitivities, the standard quantum limit of interferometry. To overcome this limit, various techniques are being proposed, among them different uses of non-classical light and alternative interferometer topologies. This article explains how quantum noise enters and manifests in an interferometric gravitational wave detector, and gives an overview of some of the schemes proposed to overcome this seemingly fundamental limitation, all aimed at the goal of higher gravitational wave event detection rates. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue `The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy'.

  6. Deep-red semiconductor monolithic mode-locked lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kong, L.; Bajek, D.; White, S. E.; Forrest, A. F.; Cataluna, M. A.; Wang, H. L.; Pan, J. Q.; Wang, X. L.; Cui, B. F.; Ding, Y.

    2014-01-01

    A deep-red semiconductor monolithic mode-locked laser is demonstrated. Multi-section laser diodes based on an AlGaAs multi-quantum-well structure were passively mode-locked, enabling the generation of picosecond optical pulses at 752 nm, at pulse repetition rates of 19.37 GHz. An investigation of the dependence of the pulse duration as a function of reverse bias revealed a predominantly exponential decay trend of the pulse duration, varying from 10.5 ps down to 3.5 ps, which can be associated with the concomitant reduction of absorption recovery time with increasing applied field. A 30-MHz-tunability of the pulse repetition rate with bias conditions is also reported. The demonstration of such a compact, efficient and versatile ultrafast laser in this spectral region paves the way for its deployment in a wide range of applications such as biomedical microscopy, pulsed terahertz generation as well as microwave and millimeter-wave generation, with further impact on sensing, imaging and optical communications

  7. Mode locking of an external cavity asymmetric quantum-well GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasil'ev, Petr P; Kan, H; Ohta, H; Hiruma, T; Tanaka, K A

    2006-01-01

    A theoretical model of the optical gain in asymmetric GaAs/AlGaAs quantum-well lasers is developed. It is demonstrated that the emission spectrum of asymmetric GaAs/AlGaAs quantum-well lasers is much broader than that of standard quantum-well lasers. The experimental samples of such lasers and superluminescent diodes with the emission bandwidth exceeding 50 nm are fabricated. Wavelength tunable ultrashort pulses with duration of 1-2 ps at repetition rates of 0.4-1 GHz are obtained by active mode locking of an external cavity laser. (lasers)

  8. High-power terahertz optical pulse generation with a dual-wavelength harmonically mode-locked Yb:YAG laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuang, W Z; Chang, M T; Su, K W; Huang, K F; Chen, Y F

    2013-01-01

    We report on high-power terahertz optical pulse generation with a dual-wavelength harmonically mode-locked Yb:YAG laser. A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror is developed to achieve synchronously mode-locked operation at two spectral bands centered at 1031.67 and 1049.42 nm with a pulse duration of 1.54 ps and a pulse repetition rate of 80.3 GHz. With a diamond heat spreader to improve the heat removal efficiency, the average output power can be up to 1.1 W at an absorbed pump power of 5.18 W. The autocorrelation traces reveal that the mode-locked pulse is modulated with a beat frequency of 4.92 THz and displays a modulation depth to be greater than 80%. (paper)

  9. QED effects induced harmonics generation in extreme intense laser foil interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, J. Y.; Yuan, T.; Liu, W. Y.; Chen, M.; Luo, W.; Weng, S. M.; Sheng, Z. M.

    2018-04-01

    A new mechanism of harmonics generation (HG) induced by quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects in extreme intense laser foil interaction is found and investigated by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. When two laser pulses with identical intensities of 1.6× {10}24 {{W}} {{{cm}}}-2 are counter-incident on a thin foil target, harmonics emission is observed in their reflected electromagnetic waves. Such harmonics radiation is excited due to transversely oscillating electric currents coming from the vibration of QED effect generated {e}-{e}+ pairs. The effects of laser intensity and polarization were studied. By distinguishing the cascade depth of generated photons and pairs, the influence of QED cascades on HG was analyzed. Although the current HG is not an efficient way for radiation source applications, it may provide a unique way to detect the QED processes in the near future ultra-relativistic laser solid interactions.

  10. Influence of the electron density on the characteristics of terahertz waves generated under laser–cluster interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frolov, A. A., E-mail: frolov@ihed.ras.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Joint Institute for High Temperatures (Russian Federation)

    2016-12-15

    A theory of generation of terahertz radiation under laser–cluster interaction, developed earlier for an overdense cluster plasma [A. A. Frolov, Plasma Phys. Rep. 42. 637 (2016)], is generalized for the case of arbitrary electron density. The spectral composition of radiation is shown to substantially depend on the density of free electrons in the cluster. For an underdense cluster plasma, there is a sharp peak in the terahertz spectrum at the frequency of the quadrupole mode of a plasma sphere. As the electron density increases to supercritical values, this spectral line vanishes and a broad maximum at the frequency comparable with the reciprocal of the laser pulse duration appears in the spectrum. The dependence of the total energy of terahertz radiation on the density of free electrons is analyzed. The radiation yield is shown to increase significantly under resonance conditions, when the laser frequency is close to the eigenfrequency of the dipole or quadrupole mode of a plasma sphere.

  11. Intra-pulse laser absorption sensor with cavity enhancement for oxidation experiments in a rapid compression machine

    KAUST Repository

    Nasir, Ehson Fawad; Farooq, Aamir

    2018-01-01

    A sensor based on a mid-IR pulsed quantum cascade laser (QCL) and off-axis cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (OA-CEAS) has been developed for highly sensitive concentration measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) in a rapid compression machine

  12. Analytic Characterization of the Dynamic Regimes of Quantum-Dot Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin Lingnau

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available We present analytic treatment of the three different dynamic regimes found in quantum-dot laser turn-on and modulation dynamics. A dynamic coupling, and thus density-dependent scattering lifetimes between dots and reservoir, are identified to be crucial for a realistic modeling. We derive a minimal model for the quantum-dot laser dynamics that can be seeded with experimentally accessible parameters, and give explicit analytic equations that are able to predict relaxation-oscillation frequency and damping rate.

  13. Tilt-tuned etalon locking for tunable laser stabilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Bradley M; McCall, Benjamin J

    2015-06-15

    Locking to a fringe of a tilt-tuned etalon provides a simple, inexpensive method for stabilizing tunable lasers. Here, we describe the use of such a system to stabilize an external-cavity quantum cascade laser; the locked laser has an Allan deviation of approximately 1 MHz over a one-second integration period, and has a single-scan tuning range of approximately 0.4  cm(-1). The system is robust, with minimal alignment requirements and automated lock acquisition, and can be easily adapted to different wavelength regions or more stringent stability requirements with minor alterations.

  14. Molecular Laser Spectroscopy as a Tool for Gas Analysis Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javis Anyangwe Nwaboh

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We have used the traceable infrared laser spectrometric amount fraction measurement (TILSAM method to perform absolute concentration measurements of molecular species using three laser spectroscopic techniques. We report results performed by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS, quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS, and cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS, all based on the TILSAM methodology. The measured results of the different spectroscopic techniques are in agreement with respective gravimetric values, showing that the TILSAM method is feasible with all different techniques. We emphasize the data quality objectives given by traceability issues and uncertainty analyses.

  15. Quantum interference in laser-induced nonsequential double ionization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quan, Wei; Hao, XiaoLei; Wang, YanLan; Chen, YongJu; Yu, ShaoGang; Xu, SongPo; Xiao, ZhiLei; Sun, RenPing; Lai, XuanYang; Hu, ShiLin; Liu, MingQing; Shu, Zheng; Wang, XiaoDong; Li, WeiDong; Becker, Wilhelm; Liu, XiaoJun; Chen, Jing

    2017-09-01

    Quantum interference plays an important role in various intense-laser-driven atomic phenomena, e.g., above-threshold ionization and high-order-harmonic generation, and provides a useful tool in ultrafast imaging of atomic and molecular structure and dynamics. However, it has eluded observation in nonsequential double ionization (NSDI), which serves as an ideal prototype to study electron-electron correlation. Thus far, NSDI usually could be well understood from a semiclassical perspective, where all quantum aspects have been ignored after the first electron has tunneled. Here we perform coincidence measurements for NSDI of xenon subject to laser pulses at 2400 nm. It is found that the intensity dependence of the asymmetry parameter between the yields in the second and fourth quadrants and those in the first and third quadrants of the electron-momentum-correlation distributions exhibits a peculiar fast oscillatory structure, which is beyond the scope of the semiclassical picture. Our theoretical analysis indicates that this oscillation can be attributed to interference between the contributions of different excited states in the recollision-excitation-with-subsequent-ionization channel. Our work demonstrates the significant role of quantum interference in NSDI and may create an additional pathway towards manipulation and imaging of the ultrafast atomic and molecular dynamics in intense laser fields.

  16. Linearity of Air-Biased Coherent Detection for Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Tianwu; Iwaszczuk, Krzysztof; Wrisberg, Emil Astrup

    2016-01-01

    The performance of air-biased coherent detection (ABCD) in a broadband two-color laser-induced air plasma system for terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) has been investigated. Fundamental parameters of the ABCD detection, including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), dynamic range (DR), and lin...

  17. Inhomogeneous effects in the quantum free electron laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piovella, N.; Bonifacio, R.

    2006-01-01

    We include inhomogeneous effects in the quantum model of a free electron laser taking into account the initial energy spread of the electron beam. From a linear analysis, we obtain a generalized dispersion relation, from which the exponential gain can be explicitly calculated. We determine the maximum allowed initial energy spread in the quantum exponential regime and we discuss the limit of large energy spread

  18. Development of principles of two-cascaded laser speckle-microscopy with implication to high-precision express diagnostics of chlamydial infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulianova, Onega; Moiseeva, Yulia; Filonova, Nadezhda; Subbotina, Irina; Zaitsev, Sergey; Saltykov, Yury; Polyanina, Tatiana; Lyapina, Anna; Ulyanov, Sergey; Larionova, Olga; Utz, Sergey; Feodorova, Valentina

    2018-04-01

    Principles of two-cascaded laser speckle-microscopy prospect for application to express diagnostics of chlamydial infection are developed. Prototype of two-cascaded speckle-microscope is designed and tested. Specific case of illumination of bacterial cells by dynamic speckles is considered. Express method of detection of epithelial cells, containing defects, which are caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, is suggested. Results of improved recognition of C. trachomatis bacteria are discussed.

  19. Measurements of barium photocathode quantum yields at four excimer laser wavelengths

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Loy, M.D.; Young, A.T.; Leung, K.N.

    1992-06-01

    The electron quantum yields from barium cathodes excited by excimer laser radiation at 193, 248, 308, and 351 nm have been determined. Experiments with different cathode surface preparation techniques reveal that deposition of barium film a few microns thick on a clean copper surface under moderate vacuum conditions achieves relatively high quantum efficiencies. Quantum yields measured from surfaces prepared in this manner are 2.3 x 10 -3 at 193 nm, 7.6 x 10 - 4 at 248 nm, 6.1 x 10 -4 at 308 nm, and 4.0 x 10 -4 at 351 nm. Other preparation techniques, such as laser cleaning of a solid barium surface, produced quantum yields that were at least an order of magnitude lower than these values

  20. Third-harmonic generation of a laser-driven quantum dot with impurity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakiroglu, S.; Kilic, D. Gul; Yesilgul, U.; Ungan, F.; Kasapoglu, E.; Sari, H.; Sokmen, I.

    2018-06-01

    The third-harmonic generation (THG) coefficient for a laser-driven quantum dot with an on-center Gaussian impurity under static magnetic field is theoretically investigated. Laser field effect is treated within the high-frequency Floquet approach and the analytical expression of the THG coefficient is deduced from the compact density-matrix approach. The numerical results demonstrate that the application of intense laser field causes substantial changes on the behavior of THG. In addition the position and magnitude of the resonant peak of THG coefficient is significantly affected by the magnetic field, quantum dot size and the characteristic parameters of the impurity potential.

  1. Direct Emissivity Measurements of Painted Metals for Improved Temperature Estimation During Laser Damage Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-03-27

    policy or position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government . This material is declared a work of the...U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. AFIT-ENP-14-M-43 DIRECT EMISSIVITY MEASUREMENTS OF PAINTED METALS FOR...Source The laser probe in use for this test is a Daylight Solutions Unicorn II quantum cascade laser operating at 3.77 µm. According to the laser

  2. Quantum behavior of terahertz photoconductivity in silicon nanocrystals networks

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pushkarev, Vladimir; Ostatnický, T.; Němec, Hynek; Chlouba, T.; Trojánek, F.; Malý, P.; Zacharias, M.; Gutsch, S.; Hiller, D.; Kužel, Petr

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 95, č. 12 (2017), s. 1-9, č. článku 125424. ISSN 2469-9950 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-03662S EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 607521 - NOTEDEV Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : terahertz spectroscopy * charge transport * silicon nanocrystals * linear response theory Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 3.836, year: 2016

  3. Terahertz transmission properties of silicon wafers using continuous-wave terahertz spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Chihoon; Ahn, Jae Sung; Ji, Taeksoo; Eom, Joo Beom

    2017-04-01

    We present the spectral properties of Si wafers using continuous-wave terahertz (CW-THz) spectroscopy. By using a tunable laser source and a fixed distributed-feedback laser diode (DFB-LD), a stably tunable beat source for CW-THz spectroscopy system can be implemented. THz radiation is generated in the frequency range of 100 GHz-800 GHz by photomixing in a photoconductive antenna. We also measured CW-THz waveforms by changing the beat frequency and confirmed repeatability through repeated measurement. We calculated the peaks of the THz frequency by taking fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) of measured THz waveforms. The feasibility of CW-THz spectroscopy is demonstrated by the THz spectra of Si wafers with different resistivities, mobilities, and carrier concentrations. The results show that Si wafers with a lower resistivity absorb more THz waves. Thus, we expect our CW-THz system to have the advantage of being able to perform fast non-destructive analysis.

  4. Terahertz transmission properties of silicon wafers using continuous-wave terahertz spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Chihoon; Ahn, Jae Sung; Eom, Joo Beom; Ji, Taeksoo

    2017-01-01

    We present the spectral properties of Si wafers using continuous-wave terahertz (CW-THz) spectroscopy. By using a tunable laser source and a fixed distributed-feedback laser diode (DFB-LD), a stably tunable beat source for CW-THz spectroscopy system can be implemented. THz radiation is generated in the frequency range of 100 GHz–800 GHz by photomixing in a photoconductive antenna. We also measured CW-THz waveforms by changing the beat frequency and confirmed repeatability through repeated measurement. We calculated the peaks of the THz frequency by taking fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) of measured THz waveforms. The feasibility of CW-THz spectroscopy is demonstrated by the THz spectra of Si wafers with different resistivities, mobilities, and carrier concentrations. The results show that Si wafers with a lower resistivity absorb more THz waves. Thus, we expect our CW-THz system to have the advantage of being able to perform fast non-destructive analysis. (paper)

  5. Quantum Computation with Ultrafast Laser Pulse Shaping

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 10; Issue 6. Quantum Computation with Ultrafast Laser Pulse Shaping. Debabrata Goswami. General Article Volume 10 Issue 6 June 2005 pp 8-14. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

  6. Properties of InGaAs quantum dot saturable absorbers in monolithic mode-locked lasers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thompson, M.G.; Marinelli, C.; Chu, Y.

    Saturable absorbers properties are characterised in monolithic mode-locked InGaAs quantum dot lasers. We analyse the impact of weak quantum confined Stark effect, fast absorber recovery time and low absorber saturation power on the mode-locking performance.......Saturable absorbers properties are characterised in monolithic mode-locked InGaAs quantum dot lasers. We analyse the impact of weak quantum confined Stark effect, fast absorber recovery time and low absorber saturation power on the mode-locking performance....

  7. Efficient terahertz wave generation from GaP crystals pumped by chirp-controlled pulses from femtosecond photonic crystal fiber amplifier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Jiang; Shi, Junkai; Xu, Baozhong; Xing, Qirong; Wang, Chingyue; Chai, Lu; Liu, Bowen; Hu, Minglie; Li, Yanfeng; Fedotov, Andrey B.; Zheltikov, Aleksei M.

    2014-01-01

    A chirp-tunable femtosecond 10 W, 42 MHz photonic-crystal-fiber oscillator-amplifier system that is capable of delivering sub-60 fs light pulses at 1040 nm is used to demonstrate high-efficiency terahertz radiation generation via optical rectification in GaP crystals only a few millimeters in length. The optimization of the chirp of the fiber-laser pulses is shown to radically enhance the terahertz output, indicating one possible way to more efficiently use these extended nonlinear crystals in compact fiber-pumped terahertz radiation sources

  8. Nonrelativistic electron bunch train for coherently enhanced terahertz radiation sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yuelin; Kim, Kwang-Je

    2008-01-01

    We propose to generate a train of prebunched electron beams for producing coherently enhanced Smith-Purcell radiation [S. J. Smith and E. M. Purcell, Phys. Rev. 92, 1069 (1953)] in the terahertz wavelength range. In this scheme, a train of picosecond laser pulses is produced to drive a photoemission gun to generate a train of 50 keV electron pulses. The parameters are chosen so that the space-charge effect does not destroy the pulse time structure. Smith-Purcell radiation from the electron pulse train is enhanced due both to the short length of the individual electron bunch and to the repetitive structure of the beam. Example systems producing coherent terahertz power at about 1 mW are described

  9. Cascade of Quantum Transitions and Magnetocaloric Anomalies in an Open Nanowire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Val'kov, V. V.; Mitskan, V. A.; Shustin, M. S.

    2017-12-01

    A sequence of magnetocaloric anomalies occurring with the change in a magnetic field H is predicted for an open nanowire with the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and the induced superconducting pairing potential. The nature of such anomalies is due to the cascade of quantum transitions related to the successive changes in the fermion parity of the nanowire ground state with the growth of the magnetic field. It is shown that the critical H c values fall within the parameter range corresponding to the nontrivial values of the Z 2 topological invariant of the corresponding 1D band Hamiltonian characteristic of the D symmetry class. It is demonstrated that such features in the behavior of the open nanowire are retained even in the presence of Coulomb interactions.

  10. Temperature dependence of spectral linewidth of InAs/InP quantum dot distributed feedback lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, J.; Huang, H.; Schires, K.; Poole, P. J.; Wang, C.; Grillot, F.

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we investigate the temperature dependence of spectral linewidth of InAs/InP quantum dot distributed feedback lasers. In comparison with their quantum well counterparts, results show that quantum dot lasers have spectral linewidths rather insensitive to the temperature with minimum values below 200 kHz in the range of 283K to 303K. The experimental results are also well confirmed by numerical simulations. Overall, this work shows that quantum dot lasers are excellent candidates for various applications such as coherent communication systems, high-resolution spectroscopy, high purity photonic microwave generation and on-chip atomic clocks.

  11. Quantum mechanical features of optically pumped CW FIR lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seligson, D.; Leite, J. R. R.; Sanchez, A.; Feld, M. S.; Ducloy, M.

    1977-01-01

    Quantum mechanical predictions for the gain of an optically pumped CW FIR laser are presented for cases in which one or both of the pump and FIR transitions are pressure or Doppler broadened. The results are compared to those based on the rate equation model. Some of the quantum mechanical predictions are verified in CH3OH.

  12. 58. annual symposium of the Austrian Physical Society. Conference programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oswald, J.

    2008-01-01

    Full text: This annual conference consisted of a plenary session, oral and poster sessions on the research fields of: acoustics; atoms, quantum optics and plasma (doped helium droplets, biomolecules studies in super fluid helium droplets, quantum physics with neutrons); solid state physics (terahertz quantum-cascade lasers, semiconductors nanostructures, magnetic studies on steel pipeline tubes, magnetic characterization magnetic materials, spin properties of confined electrons); physics history; nuclear and particle physics (antiprotonic helium - hyperfine structure, pionic atoms (hydrogen), CMS experiment at LHC (level 1-trigger, super symmetry), vertex reconstruction toolkit RAVE, silicon strip detectors, chiral transition temperature, quantum physics - Bell theorem, Bethe-Salpeter equation, plane static magnetic field, low-lying eigen modes of the dirac operator, SU(3) potentials by thick-center-vortex-model); medical, bio - and environmental physics; neutrons and synchrotron radiation physics (neutron holography - advances, atomic diffusion by XPCS, micro-diffraction experiments, cold three-axis spectrometer - next generation, superconductive radio resonating cavities- roughness, neutron polarization); surfaces and thin films (carbon monoxide adsorption on metal surfaces, laser - assisted deposition, nanostructures (magnetic properties, semiconductors, electronic structure, erosion, crystal growth, adsorption, sputtering)); physics - industry - energy; besides a poster session on polymer physics and the Max Auwaerter symposium are included. Those contributions which are in the INIS subject scope are indexed individually. (nevyjel)

  13. Contactless graphene conductance measurements: the effect of device fabrication on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mackenzie, David; Buron, Jonas Christian Due; Bøggild, Peter

    2016-01-01

    We perform contactless full-wafer maps of the electrical conductance of a 4-inch wafer of single-layer CVD graphene using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy both before and after deposition of metal contacts and fabrication of devices via laser ablation. We find that there is no significant change...... in the measured conductance of graphene before and after device fabrication. We also show that precise terahertz time-domain spectroscopy can be performed when the beam spot is at sufficient distance (>1.2 mm) from metal contacts....

  14. InP/InGaP quantum-dot SESAM mode-locked Alexandrite laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghanbari, Shirin; Fedorova, Ksenia A.; Krysa, Andrey B.; Rafailov, Edik U.; Major, Arkady

    2018-02-01

    A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) passively mode-locked Alexandrite laser was demonstrated. Using an InP/InGaP quantum-dot saturable absorber mirror, pulse duration of 420 fs at 774 nm was obtained. The laser was pumped at 532 nm and generated 325 mW of average output power in mode-locked regime with a pump power of 7.12 W. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a passively mode-locked Alexandrite laser using SESAM in general and quantum-dot SESAM in particular.

  15. Terahertz imaging of Landau levels in HgTe-based topological insulators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kadykov, Aleksandr M.; Krishtopenko, Sergey S. [Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR 5221 CNRS–Université de Montpellier, Montpellier (France); Institute for Physics of Microstructures, Russian Academy of Sciences, GSP-105, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Torres, Jeremie [Institut d' Electronique et des Systèmes (IES), UMR 5214 CNRS–Université de Montpellier, Montpellier (France); Consejo, Christophe; Ruffenach, Sandra; Marcinkiewicz, Michal; But, Dmytro; Teppe, Frederic, E-mail: frederic.teppe@umontpellier.fr [Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR 5221 CNRS–Université de Montpellier, Montpellier (France); Knap, Wojciech [Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C), UMR 5221 CNRS–Université de Montpellier, Montpellier (France); Institute of High Pressure Institute Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-447 Warsaw (Poland); Morozov, Sergey V.; Gavrilenko, Vladimir I. [Institute for Physics of Microstructures, Russian Academy of Sciences, GSP-105, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Mikhailov, Nikolai N. [Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Akademika Lavrent' eva 13, 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Dvoretsky, Sergey A. [Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Akademika Lavrent' eva 13, 630090 Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

    2016-06-27

    We report on sub-terahertz photoconductivity under the magnetic field of a two dimensional topological insulator based on HgTe quantum wells. We perform a detailed visualization of Landau levels by means of photoconductivity measured at different gate voltages. This technique allows one to determine a critical magnetic field, corresponding to topological phase transition from inverted to normal band structure, even in almost gapless samples. The comparison with realistic calculations of Landau levels reveals a smaller role of bulk inversion asymmetry in HgTe quantum wells than it was assumed previously.

  16. Basic mechanisms in the laser control of non-Markovian dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puthumpally-Joseph, R.; Mangaud, E.; Chevet, V.; Desouter-Lecomte, M.; Sugny, D.; Atabek, O.

    2018-03-01

    Referring to a Fano-type model qualitative analogy we develop a comprehensive basic mechanism for the laser control of the non-Markovian bath response and fully implement it in a realistic control scheme, in strongly coupled open quantum systems. Converged hierarchical equations of motion are worked out to numerically solve the master equation of a spin-boson Hamiltonian to reach the reduced electronic density matrix of a heterojunction in the presence of strong terahertz laser pulses. Robust and efficient control is achieved increasing by a factor of 2 the non-Markovianity measured by the time evolution of the volume of accessible states. The consequences of such fields on the central system populations and coherence are examined, putting the emphasis on the relation between the increase of non-Markovianity and the slowing down of decoherence processes.

  17. Low Power Consumption Lasers for Miniature Optical Spectrometers for Trace Gas Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forouhar, S.; Frez, C.; Franz, K. J.; Ksendzov, A.; Qiu, Y.; Soibel, K. A.; Chen, J.; Hosoda, T.; Kipshidze, G.; Shterengas, L.; hide

    2011-01-01

    The air quality of any manned spacecraft needs to be continuously monitored in order to safeguard the health of the crew. Air quality monitoring grows in importance as mission duration increases. Due to the small size, low power draw, and performance reliability, semiconductor laser-based instruments are viable candidates for this purpose. Achieving a minimum instrument size requires lasers with emission wavelength coinciding with the absorption of the fundamental absorption lines of the target gases, which are mostly in the 3.0-5.0 micron wavelength range. In this paper we report on our progress developing high wall plug efficiency type-I quantum-well GaSb-based diode lasers operating at room temperatures in the spectral region near 3.0-3.5 micron and quantum cascade (QC) lasers in the 4.0-5.0 micron range. These lasers will enable the development of miniature, low-power laser spectrometers for environmental monitoring of the spacecraft.

  18. Correlated nuclear and electronic dynamics in photoionized systems studied by quantum and mixed quantum-classical approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Zheng

    2014-09-01

    The advent of free electron lasers and high harmonic sources enables the investigation of electronic and nuclear dynamics of molecules and solids with atomic spatial resolution and femtosecond/attosecond time resolution, using bright and ultrashort laser pulses of frequency from terahertz to hard x-ray range. With the help of ultrashort laser pulses, the nuclear and electronic dynamics can be initiated, monitored and actively controlled at the typical time scale in the femtosecond to attosecond realm. Meanwhile, theoretical tools are required to describe the underlying mechanism. This doctoral thesis focuses on the development of theoretical tools based on full quantum mechanical multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) and mixed quantum classical approaches, which can be applied to describe the dynamical behavior of gas phase molecules and strongly correlated solids in the presence of ultrashort laser pulses. In the first part of this thesis, the focus is on the motion of electron holes in gas phase molecular ions created by extreme ultraviolet (XUV) photoionization and watched by spectroscopic approaches. The XUV photons create electron-hole in the valence orbitals of molecules by photoionization, the electron hole, as a positively charged quasi-particle, can then interact with the nuclei and the rest of electrons, leading to coupled non-Born-Oppenheimer dynamics. I present our study on electron-hole relaxation dynamics in valence ionized molecular ions of moderate size, using quantum wave packet and mixed quantum-classical approaches, using photoionized [H + (H 2 O) n ] + molecular ion as example. We have shown that the coupled motion of the electron-hole and the nuclei can be mapped out with femtosecond resolution by core-level x-ray transient absorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, in specific cases, the XUV photon can create a coherent electron hole, that can maintain its coherence to time scales of ∝ 1 picosecond. Employing XUV pump - IR probe

  19. Colloidal-Quantum-Dot Ring Lasers with Active Color Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    le Feber, Boris; Prins, Ferry; De Leo, Eva; Rabouw, Freddy T; Norris, David J

    2018-02-14

    To improve the photophysical performance of colloidal quantum dots for laser applications, sophisticated core/shell geometries have been developed. Typically, a wider bandgap semiconductor is added as a shell to enhance the gain from the quantum-dot core. This shell is designed to electronically isolate the core, funnel excitons to it, and reduce nonradiative Auger recombination. However, the shell could also potentially provide a secondary source of gain, leading to further versatility in these materials. Here we develop high-quality quantum-dot ring lasers that not only exhibit lasing from both the core and the shell but also the ability to switch between them. We fabricate ring resonators (with quality factors up to ∼2500) consisting only of CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/shell/shell quantum dots using a simple template-stripping process. We then examine lasing as a function of the optical excitation power and ring radius. In resonators with quality factors >1000, excitons in the CdSe cores lead to red lasing with thresholds at ∼25 μJ/cm 2 . With increasing power, green lasing from the CdS shell emerges (>100 μJ/cm 2 ) and then the red lasing begins to disappear (>250 μJ/cm 2 ). We present a rate-equation model that can explain this color switching as a competition between exciton localization into the core and stimulated emission from excitons in the shell. Moreover, by lowering the quality factor of the cavity we can engineer the device to exhibit only green lasing. The mechanism demonstrated here provides a potential route toward color-switchable quantum-dot lasers.

  20. Relativistic self-focusing of intense laser beam in thermal collisionless quantum plasma with ramped density profile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Zare

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Propagation of a Gaussian x-ray laser beam has been analyzed in collisionless thermal quantum plasma with considering a ramped density profile. In this density profile due to the increase in the plasma density, an earlier and stronger self-focusing effect is noticed where the beam width oscillates with higher frequency and less amplitude. Moreover, the effect of the density profile slope and the initial plasma density on the laser propagation has been studied. It is found that, by increasing the initial density and the ramp slope, the laser beam focuses faster with less oscillation amplitude, smaller laser spot size and more oscillations. Furthermore, a comparison is made among the laser self-focusing in thermal quantum plasma, cold quantum plasma and classical plasma. It is realized that the laser self-focusing in the quantum plasma becomes stronger in comparison with the classical regime.