High-power narrow-band terahertz generation using large-aperture photoconductors

Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999 · IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/3.777228· OSTI ID:6431865

Park, S G; Weiner, A M; Melloch, M R ^[1]; Siders, C W; Siders, J L.W.; Taylor, A J ^[2]

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1. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

Large-aperture biased photoconductive emitters which can generate high-power narrow-band terahertz (THz) radiation are developed. These emitters avoid saturation at high fluence excitation and achieve enhanced peak power spectral density by employing a thick layer of short-lifetime low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) photoconductor and multiple-pulse excitation. THz waveforms are calculated from the saturation theory of large-aperture photoconductors, and a comparison is made between theory and measurement. A direct comparison of the multiple-pulse saturation properties of THz emission from semi-insulating GaAs and LT-GaAs emitters reveals a strong dependence on the carrier lifetime. In particular, the data demonstrate that saturation is avoided only when the interpulse spacing is longer than the carrier lifetime.

• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); US Air Force; LANL; National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States); Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC (United States); Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6431865
• Journal Information: IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Vol. 35:8; ISSN 0018-9197
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
CARRIER LIFETIME
CHARGE CARRIERS
FAR INFRARED RADIATION
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
PHOTOCONDUCTORS
RADIATION SOURCES
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
INFRARED RADIATION
LIFETIME
PNICTIDES
RADIATIONS
426000* - Engineering- Components
Electron Devices & Circuits- (1990-)