We have recently demonstrated that mid-infrared saturable-absorber mirrors and optical power limiters can be constructed using the concept of intersubband polaritonic metasurfaces – devices in which intersubband transitions in a semiconductor heterostructure are strongly coupled with optical modes in nanoresonators. Our original demonstration produced only relatively small (~20%) variation in reflection between low and high intensity illumination. We have now optimized the metasurface design, relying on a GaAsSb-InGaAs heterostructure that provides narrower-linewidth intersubband transitions, increased doping density, and utilized transitions between excited states to significantly improve the experimentally-measured reflectivity contrast, which now spans from 80% to 10% for different illumination intensities.
Nonlinear metasurfaces based on coupling of intersubband transitions in n-doped semiconductor heterostructures with optical modes in nanoresonators provide the largest known second-order nonlinear response in condensed matter systems in the mid-infrared spectral range. However, these giant nonlinearities are only present at relatively low pumping intensities which limits the maximum achievable frequency conversion efficiency. We experimentally investigate a new nonlinear intersubband metasurface design for second harmonic generation based on two-level nonlinear intersubband system that provides high nonlinearity combined with significantly reduced intensity saturation compared to the intersubband metasurfaces based on three-level intersubband systems demonstrated so far.
We present terahertz (THz) surface emission by difference frequency generation in nonlinear quantum cascade lasers operating at room temperature. The device comprises two separate, transversely superimposed gratings, one for selective feedback for the midinfrared (MIR) modes and one for normal surface emission of the generated THz radiation. This allows for narrow far-field THz emission with an enhanced extraction over the entire device length with improved electrical and thermal properties compared to previous devices relying on Cherenkov phase matching. The MIR grating is realized as a higher order loss-coupled distributed feedback grating for single-mode emission at two distinct wavelengths. Its position determines the position of the standing wave pattern of the MIR modes and of the nonlinear polarization wave. This allows for a precise placement of the second-order top grating, which leads to perpendicular surface emission. The device emits in a single-lobed far-field with a full width half maximum of 3.5 deg in single-mode operation at room temperature.
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