THz generation at 1.55 μm excitation: six-fold increase in THz conversion efficiency by separated photoconductive and trapping regions

We present first results on photoconductive THz emitters for 1.55 mu m excitation. The emitters are based on MBE grown In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As multilayer heterostructures (MLHS) with high carrier mobility. The high mobility is achieved by spatial separation of photoconductive and trapping regions. Photoconductive antennas made of these MLHS are evaluated as THz emitters in a THz time domain spectrometer (THz TDS). The high carrier mobility and effective absorption significantly increases the optical-to-THz conversion efficiency with THz bandwidth in excess of 3 THz. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America