Demonstration of a GaAs-based 1550-nm continuous wave photomixer

Journal Article · Mon Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4906284· OSTI ID:22399087

Brown, E. R. ^[1]; Middendorf, J. R. ^[2]

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1. Terahertz Sensor Laboratory, Departments of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio 45435 (United States)
2. Mound Laser and Photonics Center, Inc., Kettering, Ohio 45420 (United States)

An Er:GaAs-based 1550-nm CW photomixer is demonstrated. The related mechanism is extrinsic photoconductivity with optical absorption between the localized deep levels created by the Er and the extended states above the conduction band edge of GaAs. With the power boost made possible by a fiber-coupled erbium-doped-fiber amplifier, the Er:GaAs photomixers, operating at 1550 nm, radiate THz power levels easily measured by a Golay cell, and display a power spectrum having a −3 dB roll-off frequency of 307 GHz. This corresponds to a photocarrier lifetime of 520 fs, in good agreement with a previous measurement of the bandwidth of the same material in a photoconductive switch.

• OSTI ID: 22399087
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ABSORPTION
AMPLIFIERS
DOPED MATERIALS
ENERGY SPECTRA
ERBIUM
FIBERS
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
GHZ RANGE
PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY
SWITCHES