Widely tunable compact terahertz gas lasers.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
The terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum has been the least utilized owing to inadequacies of available sources. We introduce a compact, widely frequency-tunable, extremely bright source of terahertz radiation: a gas-phase molecular laser based on rotational population inversions optically pumped by a quantum cascade laser. By identifying the essential parameters that determine the suitability of a molecule for a terahertz laser, almost any rotational transition of almost any molecular gas can be made to lase. Nitrous oxide is used to illustrate the broad tunability over 37 lines spanning 0.251 to 0.955 terahertz, each with kilohertz linewidths. Our analysis shows that laser lines spanning more than 1 terahertz with powers greater than 1 milliwatt are possible from many molecular gases pumped by quantum cascade lasers.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Chevalier, P; Amirzhan, A; Wang, F; Piccardo, M; Johnson, SG; Capasso, F; Everitt, HO
Published Date
- November 2019
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 366 / 6467
Start / End Page
- 856 - 860
PubMed ID
- 31727831
Pubmed Central ID
- 31727831
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1095-9203
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0036-8075
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1126/science.aay8683
Language
- eng