Terahertz Quantum Cascade Devices: From Intersubband Transition to Microcavity Laser

In this review, we report on the study of terahertz (THz) intersubband (ISB) transitions and on the optical devices based on them. We use time-resolved THz spectroscopy to examine ISB optical transitions in semiconductor quantum wells and quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). From these measurements, we ob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE journal of selected topics in quantum electronics 2008-03, Vol.14 (2), p.307-314
Main Authors: Unterrainer, K., Benz, A., Darmo, J., Deutsch, C., Fasching, G., Kroll, J., Kelly, D.P., Martl, M., Muller, T., Parz, W., Dhillon, S.S., Sirtori, C., Andrews, A.M., Schrenk, W., Strasser, G., Marcadet, X., Calligaro, M., Beere, H.E., Ritchie, D.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carrier dynamics
Devices
Gain
Holes
Laser transitions
Lasers
Microcavities
Optical devices
Optical losses
Optical scattering
Optical transition
Optical waveguides
Quantum cascade lasers
Quantum well lasers
semiconductor heterostructures
Semiconductor lasers
Semiconductor waveguides
Semiconductors
terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs)
time-domain THz spectroscopy
Waveguides
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Summary:In this review, we report on the study of terahertz (THz) intersubband (ISB) transitions and on the optical devices based on them. We use time-resolved THz spectroscopy to examine ISB optical transitions in semiconductor quantum wells and quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). From these measurements, we obtain important information on the carrier relaxation, scattering mechanisms, and the gain. The waveguide losses are studied directly on the QCL devices and we show the main loss mechanism in the double-metal waveguides. Finally, we demonstrate THz-QCLs with low-mode volume optical cavity.
ISSN:1077-260X
1558-4542
DOI:10.1109/JSTQE.2008.915528