太赫兹半导体探测器研究进展

太赫兹（THz）探测器是THz技术应用的关键器件之一．基于半导体的全固态THz量子阱探测器（THzQWIP）具有探测响应速度快、制作工艺成熟、体积小和易集成等优点．文章简要介绍了THz探测器的分类和特点，重点介绍了THzQWIP的工作原理和研究进展．     

Predicting future duration from present age: A critical assessment

Using a temporal version of the Copernican principle, Gott has proposed a statistical predictor of future longevity based on present age (Gott III, J. R., 1993, Nature, 363, 315) and applied the predictor to a variety of examples, including the longevity of the human species. Although Gott's proposal contains a grain of truth, it does not have the universal predictive power that he attributes to it.     

Material growth and device fabrication of terahertz quantum-cascade laser based on bound-to-continuum structure

The terahertz quantum-cascade laser （THz QCL） based on bound-to-continuum structure is demonstrated. The X-ray diffraction measurement of the material shows a high crystalline quality of the active region. A THz QCL device was fabricated with semi-insulating surface-plasmon waveguide. The test device is lasing at about 3 THz and operating up to 60 K. It shows a single frequency property under different drive currents and temperatures. At 9 K, the maximum output power is greater than 2 mW with a threshold current density of 159 A/cm2.     

Application of THz Vibrational Spectroscopy to Molecular Characterization and the Theoretical Fundamentals: An Illustration Using Saccharide Molecules

This work illustrates several theoretical fundamentals for the application of THz vibrational spectroscopy to molecular characterization in the solid state using two different types of saccharide systems as examples. Four subjects have been specifically addressed: (1) the qualitative differences in the molecular vibrational signatures monitored by THz and mid‐IR vibrational spectroscopy; (2) the selection rules for THz vibrational spectroscopy as applied to crystalline and amorphous systems; (3) a normal mode simulation, using α‐l ‐xylose as an example; and (4) a rigorous mode analysis to quantify the percentage contributions of the intermolecular and intramolecular vibrations to the normal mode of interest.     

Visco-elastic properties of reentrant nematic liquid crystalline mixtures

The visco-elastic properties for binary mixtures of 4-n -hexyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (6OCB) and 4-n-octyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8OCB) are investigated in detail by a light scattering technique. The mixtures exhibit a reentrant nematic (RN) phase between the smectic A (SmA) and crystal phases in the range 22.0–29.5 wt % of 6OCB. The viscosity and the elastic constant increase with cooling in both the nematic and reentrant nematic phases. It is also found that the mixtures exhibit anomalously large values of viscosity and elastic constant near the phase transition, i.e. a pretransitional phenomenon can be observed. The activation energy for viscosity is smaller in the RN phase than in the ordinary nematic phase appearing at higher temperatures, while the normalized elastic constant (defined as the ratio of the elastic constant to the square of the dielectric anisotropy) is larger. Moreover, the visco-elastic behaviour depends on the specific time during which the sample has been kept in the SmA phase. These results confirm that the SmA phase has a strong influence on the formation of molecular aggregates, which plays an important role in the reentrant phenomenon of these systems.     

Generation of sub‐terahertz repetition rates from a monolithic self‐mode‐locked laser coupled with an external Fabry‐Perot cavity

A novel scheme to multiply the repetition rate of a monolithic self‐mode‐locked laser for generating sub‐terahertz pulse sources is successfully demonstrated. A coated Yb:KGW crystal is designed to achieve a self‐mode‐locked operation at a repetition rate of 24 GHz with an average output power exceeding 1.0 W at a pump power of 4.8 W. A partially reflective mirror is utilized to combine with the output surface of the gain medium to constitute an external Fabry‐Perot cavity. It is theoretically and experimentally verified that adjusting the external cavity length to satisfy the commensurate condition can lead to the frequency spacing to be various order harmonics of the mode spacing of the monolithic cavity. The maximum pulse repetition rate of the laser output can be up to 216 GHz and the pulse duration is as short as 330 fs. More importantly, the overall characteristics of the first‐order temporal autocorrelation traces obtained by sequentially scanning the external cavity.length display an intriguing phenomenon of temporally fractional revivals, similar to the feature of spatial Talbot revivals.

     

基于光导微探针的近场/远场可扫描太赫兹光谱技术

太赫兹技术已经成为涉及公共安全、军事国防和国民经济等国家核心利益的前沿研究领域.以往太赫兹测量技术中通常以远场测量为主,如常用的太赫兹时域光谱仪.近年来太赫兹近场技术得到了迅猛的发展,特别是基于光导天线的探针技术的发展,为可扫描的太赫兹近场测量提供了可能.本文详细报道了我们近期在可扫描太赫兹近场光谱仪研究中的进展.采用光纤耦合的光导微探针实现了方便灵活的太赫兹近场/远场三维扫描,并同时获得振幅和相位信息.该系统将有可能广泛应用于人工微结构、石墨烯、表面等离子激元、波导传输、近场成像、生物样品检测、芯片检测等研究领域.     

粗糙表面涂覆目标的太赫兹波散射特性研究

对具有涂覆层目标的太赫兹波段粗糙表面的散射特性进行了研究. 考虑到表面粗糙度的影响, 可先对反射系数进行修正, 再利用反射系数对等效电磁流进行修正, 得到粗糙涂覆表面的等效电磁流, 然后在物理光学方程的基础上得到粗糙表面涂覆目标的雷达散射截面; 最后进行图形电磁学可视化计算, 并采用Visual C++对模型进行OpenGL显示, 提取像素面元的有效信息对所得理论进行了仿真分析, 研究了不同入射角度、不同频率、不同介质、不同粗糙度和不同涂层厚度下的太赫兹波电磁散射特性, 得到了一些有参考价值的结论.     

Complementary optical and neutron vibrational spectroscopy study of bromanilic acid: 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine (1:1) cocrystal

Complementary structural and vibrational spectroscopy study of bromanilic acid:2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine (BrA:TMP) 1:1 cocrystal is reported. The crystallographic structure was determined by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction and can be described as a stacked net of hydrogen-bonded TMPH⁺⋯BrA⁻⋯BrA⁻⋯TMPH⁺ moieties. The structural analysis was supported by ¹³CP/MAS NMR study. The complementary vibrational analysis was performed by combining optical (infrared, Raman, terahertz) and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy with the state-of-the-art solid–state density functional theory (DFT) computations, which have proven to be superior to the hybrid cluster modeling approach. An excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental data was observed over the entire spectral range, allowing for deep understanding of the vibrational properties. While the primary hydrogen-bonding interactions are limited to the above quoted structural units, the system revealed very little dispersion of the phonon branches, manifested mainly in the intermolecular vibrations range. Moreover, the studied phase does not exhibit any mechanical instability, which could suggest a displacive structural transformation tendency.