Intense Terahertz Radiation from InAs Thin Films

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) radiation from InAs thin films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on closely lattice-matched p-type GaSb (100) substrates and lattice-mismatched semi-insulating GaAs (100) substrates was investigated. The THz radiation intensity was measured from InAs films with thicknesses between 100 nm and 1.5 μm excited by a femtosecond laser pulse with a wavelength of approximately 780 nm. The radiation intensity increased as the InAs film thickness increased and it exceeded that from a bulk n-type InAs substrate with an electron concentration of 2.3 × 1016 cm−3 when the InAs film thickness was greater than about 500 nm. In addition, the THz intensity from a 1-μm-thick InAs film was greater than that from a bulk p-type InAs substrate. We ascribe this enhanced THz intensity to the wave reflected from the lower interface between the InAs film and the layer grown beneath it. We confirmed this by observing an increased pulse width due to constructive overlap of the reflected wave. The results demonstrate that InAs thin films are promising materials for THz emitting devices.