Field-resolved high-order sub-cycle nonlinearities in a terahertz semiconductor laser

J. Riepl; J. Raab; P. Abajyan; H. Nong; J. R. Freeman; L. H. Li; E. H. Linfield; A. G. Davies; A. Wacker; T. Albes; C. Jirauschek; C. Lange; S. S. Dhillon; R. Huber

doi:10.1038/s41377-021-00685-5

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Field-resolved high-order sub-cycle nonlinearities in a terahertz semiconductor laser

Articles

- Field-resolved high-order sub-cycle nonlinearities in a terahertz semiconductor laser
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 10, Issue 12, Pages: 2531-2540(2021)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Physics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  2.Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, Paris, France
  3.School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, UK
  4.Mathematical Physics and NanoLund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
  5.Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
  6.Department of Physics, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
- Author bio：
  
  S. S. Dhillon (Sukhdeep.Dhillon@phys.ens.fr)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-021-00685-5
  CLC：
- Published：31 December 2021，
  
  Published Online：20 December 2021，
  
  Received：22 June 2021，
  
  Revised：18 November 2021，
  
  Accepted：23 November 2021
- Accepted：
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Riepl, J. et al. Field-resolved high-order sub-cycle nonlinearities in a terahertz semiconductor laser. Light: Science & Applications, 10, 2531-2540 (2021).
DOI：

Riepl, J. et al. Field-resolved high-order sub-cycle nonlinearities in a terahertz semiconductor laser. Light: Science & Applications, 10, 2531-2540 (2021). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-021-00685-5.

摘要

Abstract

The exploitation of ultrafast electron dynamics in quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) holds enormous potential for intense

compact mode-locked terahertz (THz) sources

squeezed THz light

frequency mixers

and comb-based metrology systems. Yet the important sub-cycle dynamics have been notoriously difficult to access in operational THz QCLs. Here

we employ high-field THz pulses to perform the first ultrafast two-dimensional spectroscopy of a free-running THz QCL. Strong incoherent and coherent nonlinearities up to eight-wave mixing are detected below and above the laser threshold. These data not only reveal extremely short gain recovery times of 2 ps at the laser threshold

they also reflect the nonlinear polarization dynamics of the QCL laser transition for the first time

where we quantify the corresponding dephasing times between 0.9 and 1.5 ps with increasing bias currents. A density-matrix approach reproducing the emergence of all nonlinearities and their ultrafast evolution

simultaneously

allows us to map the coherently induced trajectory of the Bloch vector. The observed high-order multi-wave mixing nonlinearities benefit from resonant enhancement in the absence of absorption losses and bear potential for a number of future applications

ranging from efficient intracavity frequency conversion

mode proliferation to passive mode locking.

关键词

Keywords

references

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