Metal-metal terahertz quantum cascade laser with micro-transverse-electromagnetic-horn antenna

Wilfried Maineult (1) , Pierre Gellie (1) , Alessio Andronico (1) , Pascal Filloux (1) , Giuseppe Leo (1) , Carlo Sirtori (1) , Stefano Barbieri (1) , Emilien Peytavit (2) , Tahsin Akalin (2) , Jean-Francois Lampin (2) , Harvey E. Beere (3) , David Ritchie (3)

1 MPQ (UMR_7162) - Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques
2 IEMN - Institut d’Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie - UMR 8520
3 Cavendish Laboratory

A 2.8 THz metal-metal quantum cascade laser operating with a microtransverse-electromagnetic-horn antenna has been demonstrated. By comparing the far-field radiation pattern to a standard ridge cavity with a cleaved facet, a striking improvement of the directionality is observed. The effectiveness of the horn antenna is critically dependent on the control of the lateral modes in the laser cavity.

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Wilfried Maineult, Pierre Gellie, Alessio Andronico, Pascal Filloux, Giuseppe Leo, et al.. Metal-metal terahertz quantum cascade laser with micro-transverse-electromagnetic-horn antenna. Applied Physics Letters, 2008, 93, pp.183508-1-3. ⟨10.1063/1.3013819⟩. ⟨hal-00356949⟩