Next generation 1.5 μm terahertz antennas: mesa-structuring of InGaAs/InAlAs photoconductive layers

Mesa-structuring of InGaAs/InAlAs photoconductive layers is performed employing a chemical assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE) process. Terahertz photoconductive antennas for 1.5 mu m operation are fabricated and evaluated in a time domain spectrometer. Order-of-magnitude improvements versus planar antennas are demonstrated in terms of emitter power, dark current and receiver sensitivity. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America