Acoustic control of quantum cascade heterostructures: the THz "S-LASER"

量子级联异质结构的声学控制：太赫兹“S-LASER”

• 批准号: EP/V004743/1
• 负责人: John Cunningham
• 金额: $ 127.28万
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FV004743%2F1
• 关键词: Acoustic; control; quantum; cascade; heterostructures

Our vision is to develop active terahertz (THz) frequency devices in which the stimulated emission of coherent THz acoustic phonons is achieved simultaneously together with the stimulated emission of coherent THz photons in a quantum cascade laser (QCL); specifically, we will create a new epitaxially integrated device, which we term the THz "S-LASER" (Sound & Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) which will overcome electrical limits on the speed of modulation of current THz sources, by allowing self-oscillating sound-generating regions of the device to control at 100s of GHz regions in which THz lasing occurs. Furthermore, we will achieve precise frequency modulation in the same device using lateral surface acoustic waves (SAWs) to control the Fabry-Perot modes with unprecedented frequency range under full electrical control. THz QCLs offer an ideal platform upon which to develop such devices, owing to their gain recovery time being suitably fast, their layer structure being ideal for phonon perturbation, and since they will permit monolithic integration with active phononic devices (SASERs) in the GaAs/AlGaAs material system. THz QCLs are a well-established laser technology pioneered by the Leeds team, offering multi-Watt power levels, and spanning the spectral region from ~1 to 5 THz. Communications links formed by modulated THz QCL laser sources have been proposed as ideal candidates for military and satellite communication systems, as well as for other short-range high-throughput secure applications including in data centres. Until now, however, the maximum modulation rate that one can achieve has been limited to a few GHz by the RLC (resistive / inductive / capacitive) time constants associated with the electrical circuits in which THz QCLs are embedded. Here, we will exploit acoustic perturbation of the QCL bandstructure to modulate the electronic states and hence control the light output on picosecond timescales, yielding unprecedented modulation bandwidths of 100s of GHz. We will then use these developments to demonstrate an S-LASER, combining concepts from THz QLCs with self-oscillating SASERs.Building on a proven experimental and theoretical collaboration between Leeds and Nottingham, and using our combined world-leading expertise in THz devices and ultrafast acoustics, we will investigate experimentally the interaction of acoustic waves with THz QCL heterostructures. By exploiting the spatial overlap of confined THz photons and acoustic waves, our work will open up exploration of the physical regime of strong opto-mechanical coupling at THz frequencies. New regimes of opto-acoustic interaction have been investigated recently in the 10's of GHz frequency range, but here our chosen system will increase the frequency of operation by three orders of magnitude, enabling new physics, technology, and applications to be realised.

我们的视野是开发活跃的Terahertz（THZ）频率设备，其中同时实现相干Thz声音子的刺激发射以及在量子级联激光器（QCL）中相干Thz光子的刺激发射的发射；具体而言，我们将创建一个新的外延集成设备，我们将其称为“ S-LASER”（通过刺激辐射的刺激发射来放大声音和光放大），该设备将通过允许自我调制的速度来克服电气限制 - 设备的发声区域在发生THZ激光的100 s区域控制。此外，我们将使用侧面声波（SAW）在同一设备中实现精确的频率调制，以控制完整电气控制下具有前所未有的频率范围的Fabry-Perot模式。 THZ QCL提供了一个理想的平台，可以在该平台上开发此类设备，因为它们的增益恢复时间适当快，其层结构非常适合语音扰动，并且由于它们将允许与GAAS/ GAAS中的主动语音设备（SASER）整合整合。藻类材料系统。 THZ QCLS是一项由利兹团队开创的良好的激光技术，提供了多瓦特的功率水平，并从〜1到5 THz跨越光谱区域。已提议由调制的THZ QCL激光源形成的通信链接作为军事和卫星通信系统的理想候选者，以及其他短期高通量安全应用程序，包括数据中心。但是，到目前为止，RLC（电阻 /电感 /电容 /电容）时间常数与与THZ QCL嵌入的电路相关的最大调制率已限制为几个GHz。在这里，我们将利用QCL频段结构的声学扰动来调节电子状态，从而控制Picsecond时尺度上的光输出，从而产生前所未有的调制带宽为100 GHz。然后，我们将使用这些发展来展示S-laser，将THZ QLC的概念与自我振荡的Sasers结合在一起。建立利兹与诺丁汉之间的经过验证的实验和理论合作，并利用我们在THZ设备和Ultrafast的世界领先的专业知识声学，我们将通过实验研究声波与THZ QCL异质结构的相互作用。通过利用受限Thz光子和声波的空间重叠，我们的工作将打开对THZ频率强的光学机械耦合物理状态的探索。最近在GHz频率范围10的10范围内研究了光声相互作用的新制度，但是在这里我们选择的系统将增加三个数量级的操作频率，从而实现新的物理，技术和应用。

项目成果

Surface acoustic wave effect on magnetic domain wall dynamics

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.108.104420
• 发表时间: 2023-09
• 期刊: Physical Review B
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Jin Shuai;Luis Lopez-Diaz;J. E. Cunningham;Thomas A. Moore

Acoustic band engineering in terahertz quantum-cascade lasers and arbitrary superlattices

太赫兹量子级联激光器和任意超晶格中的声带工程

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.107.235411
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Physical Review B
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Demic A

Guidance of Terahertz Wave over Commercial Optical Fiber

太赫兹波在商用光纤上的引导

• DOI: 10.1109/irmmw-thz50926.2021.9566906
• 发表时间: 2021
• 作者: Hong B

The 2023 terahertz science and technology roadmap

• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6463/acbe4c
• 发表时间: 2023-06-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Leitenstorfer, Alfred;Moskalenko, Andrey S.;Cunningham, John
• 通讯作者: Cunningham, John

All-Electronic Phase-Resolved THz Microscopy Using the Self-Mixing Effect in a Semiconductor Laser

• DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.0c01908
• 发表时间: 2021-03
• 期刊: ACS Photonics
• 影响因子: 7
• 作者: P. Rubino;J. Keeley;N. Sulollari;A. Burnett;A. Valavanis;Imon Kundu;M. Rosamond;Lianhe H. Li