High power telecommunication-compatible photoconductive terahertz emitters based on plasmonic nano-antenna arrays

We present a high-power and broadband photoconductive terahertz emitter operating attelecommunication optical wavelengths, at which compact and high-performance fiber lasers are commercially available. The presented terahertz emitter utilizes an ErAs:InGaAs substrate to achieve highresistivity and shortcarrier lifetime characteristics required for robust operation attelecommunication optical wavelengths. It also uses a two-dimensional array ofplasmonic nano-antennas to offer significantly higher optical-to-terahertz conversion efficiencies compared to the conventional photoconductive emitters, while maintaining broad operation bandwidths. We experimentally demonstrate pulsedterahertz radiation over 0.1 –5 THz frequency range with the power levels as high as 300 μW. This is the highest-reportedterahertz radiation power from a photoconductive emitter operating attelecommunication optical wavelengths.

Source: Applied Physics Letters - November 9, 2016 Category: Physics Authors: Nezih Tolga Yardimci, Hong Lu and Mona Jarrahi Source Type: research