Abstract
Terahertz quantum cascade lasers are compact, electrically pumped semiconductor laser sources that are capable of delivering tens of milliwatts of power in continuous wave. Here, we demonstrate that these devices can be operated in a regime of active mode-locking by modulating their bias current with a radiofrequency synthesizer. Detection of the emitted pulse train is made possible by phase-locking the quantum cascade laser repetition rate and carrier frequency to a harmonic of the repetition rate of a mode-locked femtosecond fibre laser. This technique allows coherent sampling of the terahertz electric field, showing that the terahertz pulses are transform-limited. In addition, our technique allows control of the carrier-envelope phase shift of the quantum cascade laser.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The online version of the original article can be found at 10.1038/nphoton.2011.73
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barbieri, S., Ravaro, M., Gellie, P. et al. Coherent sampling of active mode-locked terahertz quantum cascade lasers and frequency synthesis. Nature Photon 5, 306–313 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.49
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.49
This article is cited by
-
Planarized THz quantum cascade lasers for broadband coherent photonics
Light: Science & Applications (2022)
-
Passive mode-locking and terahertz frequency comb generation in resonant-tunneling-diode oscillator
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Terahertz radiation generation process in the medium based on the array of the elongated nanoparticles
Optical and Quantum Electronics (2022)
-
Terahertz pulse shaping using diffractive surfaces
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Femtosecond pulses from a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser
Nature Photonics (2021)