Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T18:36:27.482Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Polarization Control of Optically Pumped Terahertz Lasers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2013

Gabriela Slavcheva
Affiliation:
Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London and Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials, University of Bath, U.K.
Alexey V. Kavokin
Affiliation:
Spin Optics Laboratory, St. Petersburg State University, Russia and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, U. K.
Get access

Abstract

Two-photon pumping of excited exciton states in semiconductor quantum wells is a tool for realization of ultra-compact terahertz (THz) lasers based on stimulated optical transition between excited 2p and ground 1s exciton state. We show that the probability of two-photon absorption by a 2p-exciton is strongly dependent on the polarization of both photons. Variation of the threshold power for THz lasing by a factor of 5 is predicted by switching from linear to circular pumping. We calculate the polarization dependence of the THz emission and identify photon polarization configurations for achieving maximum THz photon generation quantum efficiency.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Kavokin, A., Shelykh, I., Taylor, T., and Glazov, M., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 197401 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, R., Schmid, B. A., Kaindl, R. A., and Chemla, D. S., Phys. Stat. Sol. (b) 245, 1041 (2008);R. Huber et al., Phys. Rev. B 72, 161314(R) (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomaino, J. L. et al. ., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 267402 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kira, M. and Koch, S.W., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 076402 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pasquarello, A. and Quattropani, A., Phys. Rev. B 42, 9073 (1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ivchenko, E. L. and Pikus, G. E., Superlattices and Other Heterostructures (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, R. J., Phys. Rev. 108, 1384 (1957).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmermann, R., Phys. Stat. Sol. (b), 146, 371 (1988).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahan, G. D., Phys. Rev. 170, 825 (1968); V. Heine, Group theory in quantum mechanics, (Dover Publications, 1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar