Experimental Investigation of Hot Carriers in Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers

• Authors: G. Scamarcio , M. Vitiello , V. Spagnolo
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The nature of the electron distribution and the electron-lattice energy relaxation phenomena in all classes of quantum cascade lasers operating in the THz range, namely, resonant-phonon, bound-to-continuum, and interlaced photon-phonon designs are reviewed. Thermalized hot-electron distributions are found in all cases. However, electronic temperatures of individual conduction subband are strongly influenced by the specific quantum design and the actual electron-lattice energy relaxation channels. A wealth of information was obtained both below and above laser threshold from the analysis of micro-probe band-to-band photoluminescence spectra recorded with a spatial resolution of ≈2 μm. The influence of the detailed knowledge of the hot electron distributions on the design of improved THz quantum cascade lasers aiming at high temperature operation will be discussed.

Keywords

EN

42.55.Px; 68.65.Fg

Discipline

• 42.55.Px: Semiconductor lasers; laser diodes
• 68.65.Fg: Quantum wells

• Publisher: Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Acta Physica Polonica A
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 113
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 787-794

Dates

published

2008-03

received

2007-08-26

Contributors

author

G. Scamarcio

• INFM-CNR Regional Laboratory LIT3, Physics Department, University of Bari, via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy

author

M. Vitiello

• INFM-CNR Regional Laboratory LIT3, Physics Department, University of Bari, via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari, Italy

author

V. Spagnolo

• INFM-CNR Regional Laboratory LIT3, Physics Department, Politecnico di Bari, Italy

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Identifiers

DOI

10.12693/APhysPolA.113.787