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Mixing Properties of Room Temperature Patch‐Antenna Receivers in a Mid‐Infrared (λ ≈ 9 µm) Heterodyne System
Author(s) -
Bigioli Azzurra,
Gacemi Djamal,
Palaferri Daniele,
Todorov Yanko,
Vasanelli Angela,
Suffit Stephan,
Li Lianhe,
Davies A. Giles,
Linfield Edmund H.,
Kapsalidis Filippos,
Beck Mattias,
Faist Jérôme,
Sirtori Carlo
Publication year - 2020
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.201900207
Subject(s) - quantum cascade laser , heterodyne detection , quantum well infrared photodetector , local oscillator , photodetector , optoelectronics , optics , noise equivalent power , microwave , materials science , heterodyne (poetry) , superheterodyne receiver , bandwidth (computing) , cascade , biasing , intermediate frequency , physics , laser , radio frequency , quantum well , voltage , telecommunications , phase noise , acoustics , computer science , responsivity , chemistry , quantum mechanics , chromatography
A room‐temperature mid‐infrared (λ = 9 µm) heterodyne system based on high‐performance unipolar optoelectronic devices is presented. The local oscillator (LO) is a quantum cascade laser (QCL), while the receiver is an antenna coupled quantum well infrared photodetector optimized to operate in a microcavity configuration. Measurements of the saturation intensity show that these receivers have a linear response up to very high optical power, an essential feature for heterodyne detection. By providing an accurate passive stabilization of the LO, the heterodyne system reaches at room temperature the record value of noise equivalent power (NEP) of 30 pW at 9 µm and in the GHz frequency range. Finally, it is demonstrated that the injection of microwave signal into the receivers shifts the heterodyne beating over the large bandwidth of the devices. This mixing property is a unique valuable function of these devices for signal treatment in compact QCL‐based systems.