Terahertz quantum cascade VECSEL with watt-level output power

Journal Article · Mon Jul 02 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5033910· OSTI ID:1459988

Curwen, Christopher A. ^[1]; Reno, John L. ^[2]; Williams, Benjamin S.  ^[1]

---

1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Here, we report a terahertz quantum-cascade vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (QC-VECSEL) whose output power is scaled up to watt-level by using an amplifying metasurface designed for increased power density. The metasurface is composed of a subwavelength array of metal-metal waveguide antenna-coupled sub-cavities loaded with a terahertz quantum-cascade gain material. Unlike previously demonstrated THz QC-VECSELs, the sub-cavities operate on their third-order lateral modal resonance (TM₀₃), instead of their first-order (TM₀₁) resonance. This results in a metasurface with a higher spatial density of the gain material, leading to an increased output power per metasurface area. In pulsed mode operation, peak THz output powers up to 830 mW at 77 K and 1.35 W at 6 K are observed, while a single-mode spectrum and a low divergence beam pattern are maintained. In addition, piezoelectric control of the cavity length allows approximately 50 GHz of continuous, single-mode tuning without a significant effect on output power or beam quality.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1459988
• Report Number(s): SAND2018-4641J; 662743
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 113, Issue 1; ISSN 0003-6951
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics (AIP)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS