ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Adv. Opt. Technol.
Sec. Optical Manufacturing and Design
Volume 14 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/aot.2025.1431573
This article is part of the Research TopicOptoelectronics, Ultrafast Optics, and Terahertz Radiations for Advanced Device ApplicationsView all 5 articles
Study of thick active region terahertz quantum-cascade laser
Provisionally accepted
- Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, India
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The research in the area of terahertz (THz) radiation is a subject of intense discussion in the international scientific community owing to its various applications in the field of defense systems, security, interstellar studies, imaging, and the agriculture sector. While most of these applications have captured the attention of researchers in recent years, the development of a THz radiation source that meets specific requirements remains a challenging task. In this regard, the emission frequencies of the terahertz quantum-cascade lasers (THz QCLs) can be fine-tuned by adjusting the thickness of the quantum well and the height of the barriers. The electron distribution among three periods of a hybrid active region design QCL structure is numerically simulated to estimate the optical gain spectra and the electric field strength values. The results of the numerical simulations are compared with the experimental investigations by fabricating a 23 µm-thick active region THz QCL wafer by using the molecular beam epitaxy technique which is split into six portions (A-F) to investigate the transport and the lasing properties. The electrical power dissipated at 10 K for the 23 µm-thick active region THz QCL stripe processed from central portion (B) of the wafer is found to be about 56 W at the current density value of 0.53 kAcm -2 . The thick active region THz QCL investigated in the present work operates in both pulsed and continuous-wave modes at the desired emission frequencies, which is a unique feature of the interlaced design. The optical output power of the 23 µm-thick active
Keywords: thick active region, transport and the lasing characteristics, terahertz quantumcascade lasers, Quantum wells and barriers, Optical gain
Received: 12 May 2024; Accepted: 25 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 SHARMA. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: RAJESH SHARMA, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, India
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