Martin Schell

THz generation at 1.55 µm excitation: six-fold increase in THz conversion efficiency by separated photoconductive and trapping regions

We present first results on photoconductive THz emitters for 1.55µm excitation. The emitters are based on MBE grown In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As multilayer heterostructures (MLHS) with high carrier mobility. The high mobility is achieved by spatial separation of photoconductive and trapping regions. Photoconductive antennas made of these MLHS are evaluated as THz emitters in a THz time domain spectrometer (THz TDS). The high carrier mobility and effective absorption significantly increases the optical-to-THz conversion efficiency with THz bandwidth in excess of 3 THz.

Up to 40 Gb/s Directly Modulated Laser Operating at Low Driving Current: Buried-Heterostructure Passive Feedback Laser (BH-PFL)

A directly modulated 1.55-μm buried-heterostructure passive feedback laser exhibits a high modulation bandwidth of up to 34 GHz at moderate distributed-feedback (DFB) section currents between 20 and 60 mA. A very flat frequency response and a low alpha parameter have been demonstrated in the small signal modulation analysis. The device has open eyes at data rates of 25 and 40 Gb/s with reduced frequency chirp.

Influence and adjustment of carrier lifetimes in InGaAs/InAlAs photoconductive pulsed terahertz detectors: 6 THz bandwidth and 90dB dynamic range

We investigate the influence of Beryllium (Be) doping on the performance of photoconductive THz detectors based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of low temperature (LT) grown In(0.53)Ga(0.47)As/In(0.52)Al(0.48)As multilayer heterostructures (MLHS). We show how the optical excitation power affects carrier lifetime, detector signal, dynamic range and bandwidth in THz time domain spectroscopy (TDS) in dependence on Be-doping concentration. For optimal doping we measured a THz bandwidth in excess of 6 THz and a dynamic range of up to 90 dB.

64 μW pulsed terahertz emission from growth optimized InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures with separated photoconductive and trapping regions

We present results on optimized growth temperatures and layer structure design of high mobility photoconductive Terahertz (THz) emitters based on molecular beam epitaxy grown In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As multilayer heterostructures (MLHS). The photoconductive antennas made of these MLHS are evaluated as THz emitters in a THz time domain spectrometer and with a Golay cell. We measured a THz bandwidth in excess of 4 THz and average THz powers of up to 64 μW corresponding to an optical power-to-THz power conversion efficiency of up to 2 × 10−3.

All fiber-coupled THz-TDS system with kHz measurement rate based on electronically controlled optical sampling.

We demonstrate a completely fiber-coupled terahertz (THz) time-domain spectrometer (TDS) system based on electronically controlled optical sampling with two erbium-doped femtosecond fiber lasers at a central wavelength of 1560 nm. The system employs optimized InGaAs/InAlAs photoconductive antennas for THz generation and detection. With this system, we achieve measurement rates of up to 8 kHz and up to 180 ps scan range. We further achieve 2 THz spectral bandwidth and a dynamic range of 76 dB at only 500 ms measurement time.

Carrier dynamics in Beryllium doped low-temperature-grown InGaAs/InAlAs

The electron and hole dynamics in low-temperature-grown InGaAs/InAlAs multiple quantum well structures are studied by optical pump-probe transmission measurements for Beryllium (Be) doping levels between 3 × 1017 cm−3 and 4 × 1018 cm−3. We investigate electron dynamics in the limit cases of unsaturated and completely saturated electron trapping. By expanding a rate equation model in these limits, the details of carrier dynamics are revealed. Electrons are trapped by ionized arsenic antisites, whereas recombination occurs between trapped electrons and holes trapped by negatively charged Be dopants.

Absolute terahertz power measurement of a time-domain spectroscopy system.

We report on, to the best of our knowledge, the first absolute terahertz (THz) power measurement of a photoconductive emitter developed for time-domain spectroscopy (TDS). The broadband THz radiation emitted by a photoconductor optimized for the excitation with 1550-nm femtosecond pulses was measured by an ultrathin pyroelectric thin-film (UPTF) detector. We show that this detector has a spectrally flat transmission between 100 GHz and 5 THz due to special conductive electrodes on both sides of the UPTF. Its flat responsivity allows the calibration with a standard detector that is traceable to the International System of Units (SI) at the THz detector calibration facility of PTB. Absolute THz power in the range from below 1 μW to above 0.1 mW was measured.

40 Gbit/s directly modulated passive feedback DFB laser for transmission over 320 km single mode fibre

A passive feedback section 1.5 mu DFB laser is applied as 40 Gbit/s transmitter. The error free transmission over 320 km SMF demonstrates the good performance of this compact and low cost device.

40 Gbit/s directly modulated passive feedback laser

High speed directly modulated lasers are key devices for compact, low cost transmitters. In this paper we describe the mechanism of modulation bandwidth enhancement by passive feedback sections and the characteristics of accordingly fabricated 1.55 mum InGaAsP/InP lasers. The system performance at 40 Gbit/s is analysed, including VSR transmission and BER measurements, and the potential for chirp tuning is shown.

Graphene-based electro-absorption modulator integrated in a passive polymer waveguide platform

A graphene-based electro-absorption modulator has been integrated into a passive polymer waveguide platform for the first time. The opto-electronic properties of the structure are investigated with numerical simulations and measurements of a fabricated device. The graphene layers transferred to the polymer substrate were analyzed by means of Raman spectroscopy and the results indicate a high crystalline quality of the two-dimensional material. The voltage-dependent transmission through a 25 µm long device has been measured in the telecommunications-relevant wavelength range between 1500 nm and 1600 nm yielding an extinction ratio of 0.056 dB/µm.