Transmittance of a tunable filter at terahertz frequencies

A metallic photonic crystal filter has been demonstrated at terahertz frequencies, with the passband tunable over the range of 365–386 GHz. Tuning is achieved by a relative lateral shift of two metallic photonic crystal plates. Each plate is comprised of two orthogonal layers of gratings and integral mounting lugs. The plates are micromachined from silicon wafers then coated in gold to provide metallic electromagnetic behavior. An insertion loss of 3–7 dB and Q in the range of 20–30 was achieved. A shift of 140 µm gave a tuning range of 21 GHz, tuning sensitivity of 150 GHz/mm, and a fractional tuning range of 6%

Optimization of photomixers and antennas for continuous-wave terahertz emission

We have studied terahertz emission from interdigitated finger photomixers coupled to planar antenna structures. Using both pulsed and continuous-wave excitation, polarization measurements reveal that the antenna design dominates the properties of the radiated output at frequencies below 0.6 THz, while the efficiency at higher frequencies is additionally dependent on the design of the photomixer fingers. We have produced terahertz maps of the device, characterizing the photomixer by measuring the generated power as a function of the excitation position. Together, these measurements have allowed us to understand better the distinct roles of the photomixer and antenna in emission at different fre

Near-field detection of gate-tunable anisotropic plasmon polaritons in black phosphorus at terahertz frequencies

Polaritons in two-dimensional layered crystals offer an effective solution to confine, enhance and manipulate terahertz (THz) frequency electromagnetic waves at the nanoscale. Recently, strong THz field confinement has been achieved in a graphene-insulator-metal structure, exploiting THz plasmon polaritons (PPs) with strongly reduced wavelength (λp ≈ λ0/66) compared to the photon wavelength λ0. However, graphene PPs propagate isotropically, complicating the directional control of the THz field, which, on the contrary, can be achieved exploiting anisotropic layered crystals, such as orthorhombic black-phosphorus. Here, we detect PPs, at THz frequencies, in hBN-encapsulated black phosphorus field effect transistors through THz near-field photocurrent nanoscopy. The real-space mapping of the thermoelectrical near-field photocurrents reveals deeply sub-wavelength THz PPs (λp ≈ λ0/76), with dispersion tunable by electrostatic control of the carrier density. The in-plane anisotropy of the dielectric response results into anisotropic polariton propagation along the armchair and zigzag crystallographic axes of black-phosphorus. The achieved directional subwavelength light confinement makes this material system a versatile platform for sensing and quantum technology based on nonlinear optics

In-situ focused ion beam implantation for the fabrication of a hot electron transistor oscillator structure

Recent advances using in situ focused ion beam implantation during an MBE growth interruption have been exploited to fabricate planar GaAs hot electron structures without the need for shallow ohmic contacts. This novel fabrication route shows a very high yield and has been used to demonstrate a prototype high-frequency oscillator structure based on electron multiplication in the base layer. Existing devices show transfer factors in excess of unity as well as reversal of the base current at high injection levels, which are the prerequisites for oscillator action. Future improvements in device design are discussed

Spin-orbit interaction in InAs/GaSb heterostructures quantified by weak antilocalization

We study the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in InAs/GaSb and InAs quantum wells. We show through temperature- and gate-dependent magnetotransport measurements of weak antilocalization that the dominant spin-orbit relaxation mechanism in our low-mobility heterostructures is Elliott-Yafet and not Dyakonov-Perel in the form of the Rashba or Dresselhaus SOI as previously suggested. We compare our findings with recent work on this material system and show that the SOI length lies within the same range. The SOI length may be controlled using an electrostatic gate, opening up prospects for developing spintronic applications

Sculpting harmonic comb states in terahertz quantum cascade lasers by controlled engineering

Optical frequency combs (OFCs), which establish a rigid phase-coherent link between the microwave and optical domains of the electromagnetic spectrum, are emerging as key high-precision tools for the development of quantum technology platforms. These include potential applications for communication, computation, information, sensing, and metrology and can extend from the near-infrared with micro-resonator combs, up to the technologically attractive terahertz (THz) frequency range, with powerful and miniaturized quantum cascade laser (QCL) FCs. The recently discovered ability of the QCLs to produce a harmonic frequency comb (HFC)—a FC with large intermodal spacings—has attracted new interest in these devices for both applications and fundamental physics, particularly for the generation of THz tones of high spectral purity for high data rate wireless communication networks, for radio frequency arbitrary waveform synthesis, and for the development of quantum key distributions. The controlled generation of harmonic states of a specific order remains, however, elusive in THz QCLs. Here, and by design, we devise a strategy to obtain broadband HFC emission of a pre-defined order in a QCL. By patterning n regularly spaced defects on the top surface of a double-metal Fabry–Perot QCL, we demonstrate harmonic comb emission with modes spaced by an (n+1) free spectral range and with an optical power/mode of ∼270µW.</jats:p

Low-frequency noise properties of p-type GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction detectors

We have measured and analyzed, at different temperatures and bias voltages, the dark noise spectra of GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction infrared photodetectors, where a highly doped GaAs emitter is sandwiched between two AlGaAs barriers. The noise and gain mechanisms associated with the carrier transport are investigated, and it is shown that a lower noise spectral density is observed for a device with a flat barrier, and thicker emitter. Despite the lower noise power spectral density of flat barrier device, comparison of the dark and photocurrent noise gain between flat and graded barrier samples confirmed that the escape probability of carriers (or detectivity) is enhanced by grading the barrier. The grading suppresses recombination owing to the higher momentum of carriers in the barrier. Optimizing the emitter thickness of the graded barrier to enhance the absorption efficiency, and increase the escape probability and lower the dark current, enhances the specific detectivity of devices

Enhanced delivery and detection of terahertz frequency radiation from a quantum cascade laser within dilution refrigerator

We report on significant enhancements to the integration of terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCL) and THz detection with a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) within a dilution refrigerator obtained by the inclusion of a multi-mesh 6 THz low-pass filter to block IR radiation, a Winston cone to focus light output, and gating the 2DEG for optimised sensitivity. We show that these improvements allow us to obtain a > 2.5 times reduced sample electron temperature (160 mK compared with 430 mK previously), during cyclotron resonance (CR) measurements of a 2DEG under QCL illumination. This opens up a route to performing sub-100 mK experiments using excitation by THz QCLs

Asynchronous optical sampling of on-chip terahertz devices for real-time sensing and imaging applications

We demonstrate that asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS) can be used to measure the propagation of terahertz (THz) bandwidth pulses in a coplanar waveguide device with integrated photoconductive switches used for signal excitation and detection. We assess the performance of the ASOPS technique as a function of measurement duration, showing the ability to acquire full THz time-domain traces at rates up to 100 Hz. We observe a peak dynamic range of 40 dB for the shortest measurement duration of 10 ms, increasing to 88 dB with a measurement time of 500 s. Our work opens a route to real-time video-rate imaging via modalities using scanned THz waveguides, as well as real-time THz sensing of small volume analytes; we benchmark our on-chip ASOPS measurements against previously published simulations of scanning THz sensor devices, demonstrating sufficient dynamic range to underpin future video-rate THz spectroscopy measurements with these devices

Terahertz Radar Cross Section Characterization using Laser Feedback Interferometry with a Quantum Cascade Laser

Radar cross section (RCS) measurements of complex, large objects are usually performed on scale models so that the measurement is carried out in a well-controlled environment. This letter explores the feasibility of RCS measurement using a terahertz quantum cascade laser via laser feedback interferometry. Numerical simulations show that the RCS information embedded in the non-linear interferometric signals obtained from simple targets can be retrieved through numerical fitting of the well-known excess phase equation. The method is validated experimentally using a terahertz quantum cascade laser and the results are well matched with those obtained from numerical simulations