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Title: Generation of high power pulsed terahertz radiation using a plasmonic photoconductive emitter array with logarithmic spiral antennas

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4866807· OSTI ID:22293044
 [1]; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States)

An array of 3 × 3 plasmonic photoconductive terahertz emitters with logarithmic spiral antennas is fabricated on a low temperature (LT) grown GaAs substrate and characterized in response to a 200 fs optical pump from a Ti:sapphire mode-locked laser at 800 nm wavelength. A microlens array is used to split and focus the optical pump beam onto the active area of each plasmonic photoconductive emitter element. Pulsed terahertz radiation with record high power levels up to 1.9 mW in the 0.1–2 THz frequency range is measured at an optical pump power of 320 mW. The record high power pulsed terahertz radiation is enabled by the use of plasmonic contact electrodes, enhancing the photoconductor quantum efficiencies, and by increasing the overall device active area, mitigating the carrier screening effect and thermal breakdown at high optical pump power levels.

OSTI ID:
22293044
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English