Frequency response range of terahertz pulse coherent detection based on THz-induced time-resolved luminescence quenching**Project supported by the Wuhan Applied Basic Research Project, China (Grant No. 20140101010009), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61405063, 61475054, 11574105, and 61177095), the Hubei Science and Technology Agency Project, China (Grant No. 2015BCE052), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,

Abstract

It has been proposed previously that the coherent detection of a terahertz (THz) pulse can be achieved based on the time-resolved luminescence quenching. In this paper, we investigate the frequency response range of this novel detection technology by simulating the motion of carriers in gallium arsenide (GaAs) by the ensemble Monte Carlo method. At room temperature, for a direct-current (DC) voltage of 20 kV/cm applied to the semiconductor (GaAs) and sampling time of 140 fs, the luminescence quenching phenomena induced by terahertz pulses with different center frequencies are studied. The results show that the quenching efficiency is independent of the THz frequency when the frequency is in a range of 0.1 THz–4 THz. However, when the frequency exceeds 4 THz, the efficiency decreases with the increase of frequency. Therefore, the frequency response range is 0.1 THz–4 THz. Moreover, when the sampling time is changed to 100 fs, the frequency response range is extended to be approximately 0.1 THz–5.6 THz. This study of the frequency-dependent characteristics of the luminescence response to the THz pulse can provide a theoretical basis for the exploration of THz detection technology.