Frequency‐Modulated Combs via Field‐Enhancing Tapered Waveguides

Abstract

AbstractFrequency‐modulated (FM) combs feature flat intensity spectra with a linear frequency chirp, useful for metrology and sensing applications. Generating FM combs in semiconductor lasers generally requires a fast saturable gain, usually limited by the intrinsic gain medium properties. Here, it is shown how a spatial modulation of the laser gain medium can enhance the gain saturation dynamics and nonlinearities to generate self‐starting FM combs. This is demonstrated with tapered planarized terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). While simple ridge THz QCLs typically generate combs presenting a mixture of amplitude and frequency modulation, the on‐chip field enhancement resulting from extreme spatial confinement leads to an ultrafast saturable gain regime, generating a pure FM comb with a flatter intensity spectrum and a clear linear frequency chirp. The observed linear frequency chirp is reproduced using a spatially inhomogeneous mean‐field theory model, which confirms the crucial role of field enhancement. In addition, the modified spatial temperature distribution within the waveguide results in an improved high‐temperature comb operation, up to a heat sink temperature of 115 K, with comb bandwidths of 600 GHz at 90 K. The spatial inhomogeneity leads as well to very intense radio frequency (RF) beatnotes up to ‐30 dBm and facilitates dynamic switching between various harmonic states in the same device.