Integrated injection seeded terahertz source and amplifier for time-domain spectroscopy

Opt Lett. 2012 Feb 15;37(4):731-3. doi: 10.1364/OL.37.000731.

Abstract

We used a terahertz (THz) quantum cascade laser (QCL) as an integrated injection seeded source and amplifier for THz time-domain spectroscopy. A THz input pulse is generated inside a QCL by illuminating the laser facet with a near-IR pulse from a femtosecond laser and amplified using gain switching. The THz output from the QCL is found to saturate upon increasing the amplitude of the THz input power, which indicates that the QCL is operating in an injection seeded regime.