Design and modeling of semiconductor terahertz sources based on nonlinear difference-frequency mixing

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thesis_final_p.pdf (2.66 MB)

Date

2008-04-08T17:30:34Z

Authors

Marandi, Alireza

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Abstract

Unique applications of Terahertz radiation in various fields such as biology and medical sciences, remote sensing, and chemical detection have motivated researchers to develop compact and coherent sources for this least touched region of electromagnetic spectrum. Of the many techniques for generating terahertz signals, difference- frequency generation (DFG) in various crystals is one of the mostly explored methods. Various phase matching methodologies, including phase matching in bulk crystals based on birefringence, and quasi-phase matching have been proposed for this purpose. Although GaAs has an order of magnitude higher second-order nonlinear coefficient in comparison with other crystals, it is one of the least employed crystals for DFG due to phase-matching difficulties. First, it does not provide birefringence in the bulk crystal for birefringence phase matching. Second, GaAs quasi-phase matching has been shown only in few works because patterning the nonlinear susceptibilities in semiconductors is not easily achieved. In this thesis, integration of a GaAs optical waveguide and a terahertz waveguide is proposed as a wide-band phase matching technique for DFG to generate high power coherent terahertz radiation. Using waveguides for both optical and terahertz waves allows for tailoring the phase matching and increasing the interaction length to get high conversion efficiency. Using pump wavelengths between 1.5-1.6 um, where low cost and high optical powers are available, we obtained phase matching for terahertz generation in the range of 0-3.5 THz. We exploit the differences between the GaAs dielectric constant in optical and terahertz range, a high second order nonlinear coefficient, and low terahertz absorption. Simulation results show the appropriate behavior of the proposed devices for both optical and terahertz waves. The proposed waveguide phase matching can be useful for other types of devices using similar nonlinear phenomena, such as coherent detection, electro-optic modulation, and ultra-short pulse generation.

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Terahertz Generation, Nonlinear Optics

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http://hdl.handle.net/1828/334

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ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)
Theses (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
 
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