Lateral Heterogeneous Integration of Quantum Cascade Lasers

Journal Article · Thu Jun 07 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · ACS Photonics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.8b00507· OSTI ID:1467027

Yang, Yang  ^[1]; Paulsen, Andrew ^[1]; Burghoff, David ^[1]; Reno, John L. ^[2]; Hu, Qing ^[1]

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1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Research Lab. of Electronics
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnology

Broadband terahertz radiation potentially has extensive applications, ranging from personal health care to industrial quality control and security screening. While traditional methods for broadband terahertz generation rely on bulky and expensive mode-locked lasers, frequency combs based on quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) can provide an alternative compact, high power, wideband terahertz source. QCL frequency combs incorporating a heterogeneous gain medium design can obtain even greater spectral range by having multiple lasing transitions at different frequencies. However, despite their greater spectral coverage, the comparatively low gain from such gain media lowers the maximum operating temperature and power. Lateral heterogeneous integration offers the ability to cover an extensive spectral range while maintaining the competitive performance offered from each homogeneous gain media. In this paper, we present the first lateral heterogeneous design for broadband terahertz generation: by combining two different homogeneous gain media, we have achieved a two-color frequency comb spaced by 1.5 THz.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (United States); Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) (United States)
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0003525; W31P4Q-16-1-0001
• OSTI ID: 1467027
• Report Number(s): SAND-2018-3250J; 661842
• Journal Information: ACS Photonics, Vol. 5, Issue 7; ISSN 2330-4022
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
broadband sources
frequency combs
monolithic integration
semiconductor lasers
terahertz