Wide-band continuous-wave terahertz source with a vertically integrated photomixer

Emilien Peytavit (1) , Jean-Francois Lampin , Francis Hindle (2) , C. Yang , Gaël Mouret (2)

1 IEMN - Institut d’Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie - UMR 8520
2 LPCA - Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie de l'Atmosphère

A transverse electromagnetic horn antenna is monolithically integrated with a low temperature grown GaAs vertical photodetector on a silicon substrate forming a vertically integrated photomixer. Continuous-wave terahertz radiation is generated at frequencies up to 3.5 THz with a power level reaching 20 nW around 3 THz. Microwave and material concepts allow both qualitative and quantitative explanations of the experimental results. The thin film microstrip line topology has been adapted for active devices by an Au–Au thermocompression layer transfer technique and seems to be a promising generic tool for a new generation of efficient terahertz devices.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

Emilien Peytavit, Jean-Francois Lampin, Francis Hindle, C. Yang, Gaël Mouret. Wide-band continuous-wave terahertz source with a vertically integrated photomixer. Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 95 (16), pp.161102. ⟨10.1063/1.3251071⟩. ⟨hal-00471952⟩