Near-Full Current Dynamic Range THz Quantum Cascade Laser Frequency Comb
Yu Ma,
Weijiang Li,
Yuanyuan Li,
Junqi Liu,
Ning Zhuo,
Ke Yang,
Jinchuan Zhang,
Shenqiang Zhai,
Shuman Liu,
Lijun Wang,
Fengqi Liu
Affiliations
Yu Ma
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Weijiang Li
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Yuanyuan Li
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Junqi Liu
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Ning Zhuo
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Ke Yang
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Jinchuan Zhang
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Shenqiang Zhai
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Shuman Liu
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Lijun Wang
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
Fengqi Liu
Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China
The present study proposes a terahertz quantum cascade laser frequency comb (THz QCL FC) with a semi-insulated surface plasma waveguide characterized by a low threshold current density, high power and a wide current dynamic range. The gain dispersion value and the nonlinear susceptibility were optimized based on the combination of a hybrid bound-to-continuum active region with a semi-insulated surface plasmon waveguide. Without any extra dispersion compensator, stable frequency comb operation within a current dynamic range of more than 97% of the total was revealed by the intermode beat note map. Additionally, a total comb spectral emission of about 300 GHz centered around 4.6 THz was achieved for a 3 mm long and 150 µm wide device. At 10 K, a maximum output power of 22 mW was obtained with an ultra-low threshold current density of 64.4 A·cm−2.
