Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Article number | 082101 |
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 23/02/2015 |
<mark>Journal</mark> | Applied Physics Letters |
Issue number | 8 |
Volume | 106 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Publication Status | Published |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
We present the realization of a quantum cascade laser emitting at around 2.85 THz, based on a hybrid plasmonic waveguide with a low refractive index dielectric cladding. This hybrid waveguide design allows the performance of a double-metal waveguide to be retained, while improving the emission far-field. A set of lasers based on the same active region material were fabricated with different metal layer thicknesses. A detailed characterization of the performance of these lasers revealed that there is an optimal trade-off that yields the best far-field emission and the maximum temperature of operation. By exploiting the pure plasmonic mode of these waveguides, the standard operation conditions of a double-metal quantum cascade laser were retrieved, such that the maximum operating temperature of these devices is not affected by the process. These results pave the way to realizing a class of integrated devices working in the terahertz range which could be further exploited to fabricate terahertz on-chip circuitry.