A Connected Array of Coherent Photoconductive Pulsed Sources to Generate mW Average Power in the Submillimeter Wavelength Band

A pulsed photoconductive terahertz (THz) source is presented that is able to radiate milliwatt (mW) level average power over a large bandwidth, by exploiting both the optical and electrical properties of photoconductive sources and the ultrawideband properties of connected antenna arrays. An optical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on terahertz science and technology 2019-05, Vol.9 (3), p.221-236
Main Authors: Garufo, Alessandro, Sberna, Paolo Maria, Carluccio, Giorgio, Freeman, Joshua R., Bacon, David R., Li, Lianhe, Bueno, Juan, Baselmans, Jochem J. A., Linfield, Edmund H., Davies, Alexander G., Llombart, Nuria, Neto, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ad hoc networks
Antenna arrays
Antennas
Bandwidth
Bandwidths
Connected arrays
Dipoles
Directivity
Electrical properties
Laser arrays
Laser beams
Metallization
Microlenses
Optical arrays
Optical properties
Optical pulses
photoconductivity
Power lasers
Prototypes
Radiation measurement
terahertz (THz) photoconductive antennas (PCAs)
THz radiated power
THz sources
THz technology
THz time-domain measurements
Ultrawideband
ultrawideband arrays
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Summary:A pulsed photoconductive terahertz (THz) source is presented that is able to radiate milliwatt (mW) level average power over a large bandwidth, by exploiting both the optical and electrical properties of photoconductive sources and the ultrawideband properties of connected antenna arrays. An optical system composed of a microlenses array splits the laser beam into \boldsymbol{N \times N} spots that host the active excitation of the antenna arrays. An "ad hoc" network is introduced to bias the array active spots in order to implement a connected antenna array configuration. The array feeds a silicon lens to increase the directivity of the radiated THz beam. A dipole and a slot array are designed. Prototypes have been fabricated and measured. Power and spectrum measurements of the prototypes are in excellent agreement with the expected results. The proposed solutions achieve excellent power radiation levels by exploiting accurate electromagnetic design. Thus, they can offer enhancements to any active system relying on pulsed photoconductive antennas.
ISSN:2156-342X
2156-3446
DOI:10.1109/TTHZ.2019.2896791