Room temperature high-power terahertz semiconductor laser with high-quality beam shape and stable spectral emission

具有高质量光束形状和稳定光谱发射的室温高功率太赫兹半导体激光器

• 批准号: 2149908
• 负责人: Manijeh Razeghi
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-05-15 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2149908&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Room; temperature; power; terahertz; semiconductor

This project seeks to develop compact and high power THz sources in order to close an important gap in technology between microwave and optical devices. This is a transition area between electronics and optics as well as a transition area between classical mechanics and quantum physics. The specific location of THz waves in the electromagnetic spectrum also gives them a plethora of unique properties. For an example, THz waves can pass through a variety of substances, including synthetics, textiles, paper, and cardboard. Also, many biomolecules, proteins, explosives or narcotics feature characteristic absorption signatures at the frequencies between 1 and 5 THz. Therefore, two major applications of THz radiation are imaging, sensing and spectroscopy. Besides, unlike X-rays, THz waves do not have any ionizing effects and are generally considered biologically innocuous. This makes THz waves much safer and healthier than X-rays when used for security checks and medical diagnosis. In addition, as the THz frequency is orders of magnitude higher than tht used for traditional wireless internet, there is the potential to apply THz technology for the next-generation of high-speed wireless communications. Unfortunately, current commercial sources of THz radiation are either extremely large or require cryogenic cooling, neither of which are desirable traits for widespread use. By integrating quantum device engineering, nonlinear optics, optical phased arrays, and photonic integrated circuit technology, it may now be possible to realize a compact, mass-producible, and room temperature THz source with high output power in continuous operation. This source will represent an enabling technology for all of the applications mentioned above.The proposed THz frequency source is based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in a dual-wavelength quantum cascade laser (QCL) that has been configured as an optical phased array (OPA) for coherent, high power operation. The utility of the OPA is to both manage waste heat and provide near diffraction limited beam quality for THz emission. With proper heat management and packaging, this will be the first room chip-based semiconductor laser with 1 mW CW THz output power at room temperature. This type of THz source inherits all of the advantages of the mid-infrared QCLs, such as room temperature operation, electrical pumping, compact size, stable emission, and the potential for mass production. This multidisciplinary project is a combination of both theory and experiment covering diverse fields, including semiconductor physics, material science, quantum mechanics, optoelectronics, nonlinear optics, thermal management, and micro/nanotechnology. In additional to the practical use of the technology that will be developed, project details also make an excellent case study for integrated device development, which will be explored as part of the Solid State Engineering curriculum at Northwestern University.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在开发紧凑型和高功率THZ来源，以缩小微波设备和光学设备之间技术的重要差距。这是电子和光学之间的过渡区域，以及经典力学和量子物理学之间的过渡区域。电磁频谱中Thz波的特定位置也使它们具有众多独特的特性。例如，THZ波可以通过各种物质，包括合成，纺织品，纸张和纸板。此外，许多生物分子，蛋白质，炸药或麻醉品在1至5 THz之间的特征性吸收特征。因此，THZ辐射的两个主要应用是成像，传感和光谱法。此外，与X射线不同，THZ波没有任何电离效应，通常被认为在生物学上无害。这使得在用于安全检查和医学诊断时，THZ波浪比X射线更安全，更健康。此外，由于THZ频率比传统无线互联网所使用的数量级高，因此有可能将THZ技术应用于高速无线通信的下一代。不幸的是，当前THZ辐射的商业来源要么极大，要么需要低温冷却，这两种都不是理想的特征。通过集成量子设备工程，非线性光学元件，光学阶段阵列和光子集成电路技术，现在可以实现紧凑，质量可实现和室温THZ源具有高输出功率在连续运行中。 该源将代表上述所有应用程序的启示技术。所提出的THZ频率源基于双波长度量子级联激光器（QCL）中的差异频率产生（DFG），该量子级别级联激光器（QCL）已配置为相干，高功率操作的光学相位阵列（OPA）。 OPA的实用性是管理废热，并提供接近衍射的束带质量以进行THZ发射。 借助适当的热量管理和包装，这将是第一个在室温下具有1 MW CW THZ输出功率的基于芯片的半导体激光器。 这种类型的THZ来源继承了中红外QCL的所有优点，例如室温运行，电动抽水，紧凑型，稳定发射以及质量产量的潜力。这个多学科项目是涵盖各种领域的理论和实验的结合，包括半导体物理学，材料科学，量子力学，光电子学，非线性光学器件，热管理和微/纳米技术。除了将要开发的技术的实际使用外，项目详细信息还为集成设备开发提供了一项出色的案例研究，该案例将作为西北大学的固态工程课程的一部分进行探索。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用该基金会的知识功能和广泛的影响来评估Criteria criteria criteria criteria criteria均被评估。

项目成果

High power, room temperature, terahertz sources and frequency comb based on difference-frequency generation at CQD

基于 CQD 差频生成的高功率、室温、太赫兹源和频率梳

• DOI: 10.1117/12.2635322
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: and Applications XIII
• 作者: Razeghi, Manijeh