Electrically pumped semiconductor laser with monolithic control of circular polarization

Abstract

We demonstrate surface emission of terahertz (THz) frequency radiation from a monolithic quantum cascade laser with built-in control over the degree of circular polarization by " fishbone" gratings composed of orthogonally oriented aperture antennas. Different grating concepts for circularly polarized emission are introduced along with the presentation of simulations and experimental results. Fifth-order gratings achieve a degree of circular polarization of up to 86% within a 12 degrees-wide core region of their emission lobes in the far field. For devices based on an alternative transverse grating design, degrees of circular polarization as high as 98% are demonstrated for selected far-field regions of the outcoupled THz radiation and within a collection half-angle of about 6 degrees. Potential and limitations of integrated antenna gratings for polarization-controlled emission are discussed.