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Short Terahertz Pulse Generation from a Dispersion Compensated Modelocked Semiconductor Laser
Author(s) -
Wang Feihu,
g Had,
Fobbe Tobias,
Pistore Valentino,
Houver Sarah,
Markmann Sergej,
Jukam Nathan,
Amanti Maria,
Sirtori Carlo,
Moumdji Souad,
Colombelli Raffaele,
Li Lianhe,
Linfield Edmund,
Davies Giles,
Mangeney Juliette,
Tig Jérôme,
Dhillon Sukhdeep
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
laser and photonics reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.778
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1863-8899
pISSN - 1863-8880
DOI - 10.1002/lpor.201700013
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , laser , optics , optoelectronics , picosecond , dispersion (optics) , materials science , resonator , bandwidth limited pulse , mode locking , ultrashort pulse , semiconductor laser theory , physics
Dispersion compensation is vital for the generation of ultrashort and single cycle pulses from modelocked lasers across the electromagnetic spectrum. It is typically based on addition of an extra dispersive element to the laser cavity that introduces a chromatic dispersion opposite to that of the gain medium. To date, however, no dispersion compensation schemes have been successfully applied to terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers for short and stable pulse generation in the THz range. In this work, a monolithic on‐chip compensation scheme is realized for a modelocked QCL, permitting THz pulses to be considerably shortened from 16ps to 4ps. This is based on the realization of a small coupled cavity resonator that acts as an ‘off resonance’ Gires‐Tournois interferometer (GTI), permitting large THz spectral bandwidths to be compensated. This novel application of a GTI opens up a direct and simple route to sub‐picosecond and single cycle pulses in the THz range from a compact semiconductor source.