太赫兹量子级联激光器有源区增益分析和设计

太赫兹量子级联激光器(QCL)有源区设计主要包括啁啾超晶格、束缚-连续态跃迁和共振声子等模式。本文利用密度矩阵方法模拟太赫兹QCL光增益谱的基本特征,特别是通过分析太赫兹QCL光增益特性与子带寿命的依赖关系,理解太赫兹QCL对超晶格子带间非辐射跃迁寿命的要求。进而根据这些要求给出一种基于束缚-连续态跃迁和共振声子混合模式的太赫兹QCL有源区设计方案,利用纵光学声子共振帮助缩短束缚-连续态跃迁模式中下辐射态寿命。     

半导体超晶格的带间集体激发

本文用自治的线性响应理论,在类似于紧束缚近似的条件下计算了非扁平子带间的集体激发谱.结果是不仅文献[3]导出的无重叠模式有显著的修正,而且出现了两支纯由层间波函数的重叠效应引起的新模式. 本文的方法可直接用于带内激发和存在垂直磁场时磁等离子激发的研究,并为建立半导体超晶格内非扁平子带间的光吸收理论以及鞍点激子理论奠定了基础.     

利用里德堡原子探测微波和太赫兹波的研究

里德堡(Rydberg)原子具有极大的极化率和电偶极矩,并对外电场十分敏感,因此可利用Rydberg原子的量子干涉效应实现微波和太赫兹场的高精确度、自校准测量,基于Rydberg原子对太赫兹波频率上转换效应可实现太赫兹波段的实时成像。本文回顾了利用Rydberg原子的电磁诱导透明效应和Autler-Townes分裂现象实现对微波和太赫兹场的高精确度探测的研究进展,以及Rydberg原子在快速太赫兹成像方面的研究。     

基于受激声子极化激元的太赫兹波传输调控与非线性效应研究

太赫兹波与离子晶体中光学声子耦合形成的受激声子极化激元,为太赫兹波在晶体材料中的传输调控和非线性增强提供了有效途径,进而为强场太赫兹科学技术的发展开辟了新的可能性。从物理概念、实验方案、调控手段等方面简要回顾了受激声子极化激元相关的研究进展,分析了受激声子极化激元作用下太赫兹波对光与物质相互作用机制的影响,展望了受激声子极化激元在未来强场太赫兹科学技术中的发展潜力与应用前景。     

GaAs/AlGaAs多量子阱结构的光吸收谱和横向光电流谱

研究了MBE GaAs/AlGaAs多量子阱结构的横向光电流谱和光吸收谱。在光电流谱中观测到多种允许和禁戒的激子吸收峰以及一个阱中受主态至n=1电子态的非本征吸收峰。确定出5个空穴子带至2个电子子带的跃迁以及这些子带的间距。采用简单带方势阱模型并取参数Q_c=0.6,m_c=0.0665,m_h=0.45和m_l=0.12的计算结果与实验数据符合得相当好。将光吸收谱与光荧光谱进行了比较。     

超晶格光伏效应的温度特性

在18～300K 度范围内测量了 GaAs/AlGaAs 超晶格和 Ge_xSi_(1-x)/Si 应变层超晶格在不同温度下的光伏谱。在200K 以下,在 GaAs/AlGaAs 超晶格中观测到6个子带间光跃迁激子峰;在100K 以下,GaAs/AlGaAs 的光伏谱反映了超晶格台阶状态密度分布。在 Ge_xSi_1-x/Si 应变层超晶格中,观测到子带和连续带间的光跃迁。并对两类超晶格的光伏特性进行了比较分析。     

GaAs/Ga_(0.7)Al_(0.3)As超晶格中场致激子峰展宽机制的研究

我们利用光电流谱在10—300K温度范围内研究了GaAs/Ga_(0.7)Al_(0.3)As(35A/35A)短周期超晶格中的Wannier-Stark效应,实验发现0h激子峰随电场的增加而展宽。我们把激子峰的场致展宽归因于:Wannier-Stark局域化使界面的涨落对电子态的散射增加而使激子峰展宽。这种与电场有关的散射机制会使L.Esaki和Tsu所预期的超晶格的负微分电阻效应减小。     

纤锌矿氮化物半导体束缚极化子及压力效应

考虑到纤锌矿结构的氮化物半导体材料的单轴异性,采用变分法研究了两支异常光学声子LO-like和TO-like对杂质态结合能的影响,即极化子效应.计及电子有效质量,材料介电常数及晶格振动频率随流体静压力的变化,讨论了束缚极化子结合能的压力效应,数值结果表明,极化子效应使杂质态结合能明显降低,极化子效应的主要贡献来自杂质态与LO-like声子的相互作用.压力使得结合能增加,且增强了结合能的各向异性.     

太赫兹波在二维光子晶体中的传播特性

为了得到太赫兹波在二维三角晶格光子晶体中的传播特性,利用平面波展开法数值模拟了三角晶格能带结构和态密度分布,得出E偏振当填充率f=0.9069和H偏振f=0.7346时出现最大光子带隙,在f=0.8358出现最大完全光子带隙.计算表明,增加介电常数的差值,太赫兹波在三角晶格光子晶体中传播的带隙增加了,光子晶体态密度的分布验证了存在光子带隙的范围.研究结果为太赫兹波器件的开发提供了理论依据.     

纤锌矿氮化物半导体束缚极化子及压力效应

考虑到纤锌矿结构的氮化物半导体材料的单轴异性,采用变分法研究了两支异常光学声子LO-like和TO-like对杂质态结合能的影响,即极化子效应.计及电子有效质量,材料介电常数及晶格振动频率随流体静压力的变化,讨论了束缚极化子结合能的压力效应,数值结果表明,极化子效应使杂质态结合能明显降低,极化子效应的主要贡献来自杂质态与LO-like声子的相互作用.压力使得结合能增加,且增强了结合能的各向异性.     

Terahertz/optical mixing in symmetric semiconductor quantum wells embedded in optical microcavities

A quantum well (QW) in the simultaneous presence of a terahertz field polarized in the growth direction and an incident optical field near an excitonic resonance results in substantial frequency mixing between the terahertz and optical fields. In particular, a response at new frequencies given by the input optical frequency plus or minus multiples of the terahertz frequency occurs-the terahertz sidebands. In a symmetric QW, the dominant contribution to terahertz-sideband formation is the high-frequency modulation of the overlap integral of the relevant conduction- and valence-subband envelope functions that determine the strength of the interband dipole moment. terahertz-sideband generation is shown to be strongly enhanced in a high quality-factor optical microcavity. Numerical values of the reflected intensity into the first terahertz sideband normalized with respect to the reflected intensity at the fundamental as large as /spl sim/10% are estimated. This suggests that terahertz-sideband generation in semiconductor microcavities is a promising option worthy of exploration for wavelength conversion for wavelength-division multiplexing applications.     

Generation of frequency-tunable far-infrared and terahertz radiation by optical nutations at intraband transitions in asymmetric semiconductor nanoheterostructures

A frequency-tunable emitter of far-infrared and terahertz radiation utilizing optical nutations at intraband transitions in semiconductor nanoheterostructures with asymmetric quantum wells excited by femtosecond electromagnetic pulses is suggested and analyzed in detail. Since quantum-confinement sub-bands in such structures possess differing mean dipole moments, nutations involving intraband transitions between these subbands result in the appearance of low-frequency polarization that serves as the source of infrared or terahertz radiation. If, rather than being excited homogeneously along the structure, the nutations are characterized by some spatial period, then, in spite of the pulse character of the excitation, the emitted radiation will be continuous-wave. The radiation frequency can be tuned in a broad range by changing the spatial period or the repetition rate of the femtosecond pulses.     

Room-temperature optical absorption in the InAs/GaAs quantum-dot superlattice under an electric field

Electroluminescence and absorption spectra of a ten-layer InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) superlattice built in a two-section laser with sections of equal length is experimentally studied at room temperature. The thickness of the GaAs spacer layer between InAs QD layers, determined by transmission electron microscopy, is ∼6 nm. In contrast to tunnel-coupled QDs, QD superlattices amplify the optical polarization intensity and waveguide absorption of the TM mode in comparison with the TE mode. It is found that variations in the multimodal periodic spectrum of differential absorption of the QD superlattice structure are strongly linearly dependent on the applied electric field. Differential absorption spectra exhibit the Wannier-Stark effect in the InAs/GaAs QD superlattice, in which, in the presence of an external electric field, coupling of wave functions of miniband electron states is suppressed and a series of discrete levels called the Wannier-Stark ladder states are formed.     

Spectra of the field and current oscillations in superlattices exposed to terahertz laser radiation

Nonlinear oscillations of field and current excited by terahertz laser radiation in semiconductor superlattices were studied, taking into account the fact that the self-consistent internal field is multifrequncy. Oscillatory nonlinear susceptibilities, as well as dissipative and parametric instabilities in superlattices, lead to ambiguous and hysteresis dependences of the oscillation spectra on the external-field amplitude and frequency. The spectrum shape features are controlled by spontaneous generation of a static field and parametric amplification of external-field harmonics and subharmonics. The conventional approximation of single-frequency internal field was shown to be unsatisfactory, especially for superlattices with a high electron density.     

ZnTe晶体对太赫兹波的电光响应及极化匹配

给出了ZnTe电光晶体折射率和吸收系数随太赫兹波频率而变化的计算曲线,比较了太赫兹波在ZnTe中传播时的相速度和群速度。通过与太赫兹频率和晶体厚度相关的电光效率响应函数,理论计算了ZnTe电光晶体对太赫兹脉冲的探测电光响应,得到了晶体厚度与探测到的太赫兹频谱宽度的定性关系,从计算结果中找到了ZnTe电光晶体在5.3 THz和6.2 THz等多个频点的探测盲点,这些探测盲点来自于ZnTe电光晶体与相应频点太赫兹波的栅格共振吸收。结合自制的大口径太赫兹光导天线和1 kHz脉冲重复频率的太赫兹时域光谱实验系统,通过差分探测技术,从实验上得到了太赫兹波极化方向与〈110〉型ZnTe晶体晶轴方向的六个最佳匹配角度,给出了太赫兹电场最大值随晶轴与太赫兹波极化方向之间夹角变化的曲线及经验公式,这将有利于在实践中对该现象的深入理解和对探测灵敏度的有效提高。     

Intermediate band photovoltaics based on interband–intraband transitions using In0.53Ga0.47As/InP superlattice

We present a theoretical model to incorporate the quantum mechanism of two‐photon transitions into macroscopic operations. The two‐photon transition is described as a two‐step interband–intraband transition within the one‐band envelope‐function framework and is coupled with drift–diffusion as well as the potential distribution. In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP superlattices (SLs) are chosen as the initial candidate to simulate intermediate band solar cell operation. In this type of structure, the absorption spectrum of interband and intraband transitions is asymmetric and strongly depends on device structure and operating conditions. Our results also reveal that the intraband transition dominates the detailed balance. Both the intermediate band (IB) configuration and the conversion efficiency are determined by the SL structure. Only well‐designed SLs can form the appropriate IB. Furthermore, an efficiency contour plot has been calculated to guide quantum design: the peak efficiency is 45.61% when the well thickness is 4 nm and the barrier thickness is 2 nm. As the well or barrier thickness increases to 10 nm, the absorption peak of the intraband transition gradually redshifts and narrows, so the efficiency correspondingly decreases to below 40%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advances in Polarizer Technology for Terahertz Frequency Applications

As investigations into potential applications of terahertz technology grow, there is an increasing need for improved terahertz optical components such as polarizers. To determine the optical properties of a sample accurately, the polarization properties of the light must also be known accurately. Many terahertz emitters will have both horizontal and vertical polarization components and often assumptions are made about device characteristics without measuring them-even the position of excitation beam on the photoconductive emitter can affect the resulting terahertz electric field and so the exact optical properties of a given device will vary depending on how they are configured. Polarizers operating at terahertz frequencies can be used to characterize the electric field accurately or remove unwanted components as long as the polarizer is of sufficiently high performance. In this paper we review the key properties of polarizers and look at recent advances in their design and development at terahertz frequencies.     

Bloch oscillations in superlattices: The problem of a terahertz oscillator

The feasibility of designing a terahertz oscillator based on the Bloch oscillations of electrons in semiconductor superlattices is studied. It is shown that superlattices with high-Q Bloch oscillations can be used to generate a terahertz emission in pulsed electric fields with an off-duty factor that ensures the thermalization of electrons heated by the field. It is suggested that a terahertz oscillator is designed with a frequency that is tuned continuously by an electric field on the basis of anharmonic Bloch oscillations of electrons in semiconductor superlattices that have special miniband characteristics in which the major part of the effective electron mass is positive and increases as the electron energy increases. This circumstance makes it possible to eliminate the development of undesired domain instability (the Gunn effect).     

光驱动宽频带可调谐太赫兹吸波器设计

设计了一种基于光敏材料硅(Si)的宽频带极化不敏感的光驱动可调谐太赫兹超材料吸波器(metamaterial ab-sorber,简称MMA).该可调谐太赫兹MMA基本单元结构由嵌入光敏硅的紧凑开缝环谐振器结构、中间介质隔离层与金属底板构成.硅的电导率随着入射光的强度而发生改变,从而使太赫兹MMA工作频率和吸波性能得到有效的调节.数值计算结果表明:当硅电导率在1. 0×10~3S/m到5. 0×10~5S/m范围内动态调节时,该MMA吸波特性在0. 442 THz到0. 852 THz范围内动态调节.另外,其相对调节带宽达到63. 37%,吸收率调制深度达到60. 22%.进一步的数值计算结果表明我们所设计的MMA具备极化不敏感和宽入射角的特性.     

Terahertz electroluminescence of fibonacci superlattices

The electroluminescence of AlGaAs Fibonacci superlattices in the terahertz range is studied theoretically. Linear behavior of the optical amplification coefficient G and multicolored emission with peaks of G higher than 20 cm^?1 without accompanying absorption peaks are observed in electric fields of F = 11–13 kVcm^?1 at the frequencies f = 2–4 THz. The parameters of the peaks can be conveniently controlled by varying the electric field and the superlattice layer thicknesses. Such emitters based on quasi-periodic super-lattices offer promise for terahertz technology.