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    Terahertz quantum-cascade lasers as high-power and wideband, gapless sources for spectroscopy
    (Washington, DC : Optical Society of America, 2017) Röben, Benjamin; Lü, Xiang; Hempel, Martin; Biermann, Klaus; Schrottke, Lutz; Grahn, Holger T.
    Terahertz (THz) quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) are powerful radiation sources for high-resolution and high-sensitivity spectroscopy with a discrete spectrum between 2 and 5 THz as well as a continuous coverage of several GHz. However, for many applications, a radiation source with a continuous coverage of a substantially larger frequency range is required. We employed a multi-mode THz QCL operated with a fast ramped injection current, which leads to a collective tuning of equally-spaced Fabry-Pérot laser modes exceeding their separation. A continuous coverage over 72 GHz at about 4.7 THz was achieved. We demonstrate that the QCL is superior to conventional sources used in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio as well as the dynamic range by one to two orders of magnitude. Our results pave the way for versatile THz spectroscopic systems with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity across a wide frequency range.
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    Frequency modulation spectroscopy with a THz quantum-cascade laser
    (Washington, DC : Optical Society of America, 2013) Eichholz, R.; Richter, H.; Wienold, M.; Schrottke, L.; Hey, R.; Grahn, H.T.; Hübers, H.-W.
    We report on a terahertz spectrometer for high-resolution molecular spectroscopy based on a quantum-cascade laser. High-frequency modulation (up to 50 MHz) of the laser driving current produces a simultaneous modulation of the frequency and amplitude of the laser output. The modulation generates sidebands, which are symmetrically positioned with respect to the laser carrier frequency. The molecular transition is probed by scanning the sidebands across it. In this way, the absorption and the dispersion caused by the molecular transition are measured. The signals are modeled by taking into account the simultaneous modulation of the frequency and amplitude of the laser emission. This allows for the determination of the strength of the frequency as well as amplitude modulation of the laser and of molecular parameters such as pressure broadening.