Direct surface cyclotron resonance terahertz emission from a quantum cascade structure

http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v100/i10/p102103_s1?isAuthorized=no

François-Régis Jasnot¹, Louis-Anne de Vaulchier¹, Yves Guldner¹, Gérald Bastard¹, Angela Vasanelli², Christophe Manquest², Carlo Sirtori², Mattias Beck³, and Jérôme Faist³

¹Laboratoire Pierre Aigrain, Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS (UMR 8551), 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France 
²Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénoménes Quantiques, Université Paris Diderot—Paris 7, CNRS—UMR 7162, Bâtiment Condorcet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France 

³Institute of Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland 

A strong magnetic field applied along the growth direction of a semiconductor quantum well gives rise to a spectrum of discrete energy states, the Landau levels. By combining quantum engineering of a quantum cascade structure with a static magnetic field, we can selectively inject electrons into the excited Landau level of a quantum well and realize a tunable surface emitting device based on cyclotron emission. By applying the appropriate magnetic field between 0 and 12 T, we demonstrate emission from a single device over a wide range of frequencies (1-2 THz and 3-5 THz).

© 2012 American Institute of Physics