Terahertz quantum cascade lasers with sampled lateral gratings for single mode operation

Abstract

In this paper, we presented single mode terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) with sampled lateral grating emitting approximately 3.4 THz. Due to strong mode selection, the implementation of sampled lateral grating on THz QCL ridges can result in stable single longitudinal mode emission with a side-mode suppression ratio larger than 20 dB. The measured peak power of the grating laser is improved by about 11.8% compared to the power of devices with uniform distributed feedback gratings. Furthermore, the far-field pattern of the presented device is uninfluenced by grating structures.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

terahertz (THz) / quantum cascade laser (QCL) / sampled lateral grating

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFB1801502), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61927813, 61975225, and 61704181), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 17ZR1448300), and Shanghai International Cooperation Project (No. 18590780100).

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