A high-Tc intrinsic Josephson junction emitter tunable from 0.5 to 2.4 terahertz

Abstract

Strong, monochromatic, coherent and continuous terahertz (THz) radiation was generated from the intrinsic Josephson junctions in a cylindrical stand-alone mesa sandwich structure fabricated from a single crystal of the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. By varying the base temperature and the dc bias current-voltage characteristic (IVC) points, the emission frequency is tunable from 0.5 to a record high 2.4 THz observed on two inner IVC branch points. Strong emission power peaks were observed at 1.0 THz and 1.6 THz. This device is hence an excellent candidate to fill the “THz gap” between ∼1.4 and 2.0 THz.

Three-Dimensional Simulations of the Electrothermal and Terahertz Emission Properties ofBi2Sr2CaCu2Rudau1, Wieland2, Langer3 et al. 2016Phys. Rev. Applied290270View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…Emission frequencies range from 0.3 to 2.4 THz. For the best stacks, an emission power P e in the range of tens of µW has been achieved 17,19,20,32,33 , and arrays of mesas showed emission with P e up to 0.61 mW 19 . The physics of the huge IJJ stacks is affected by Joule heating 1, 3,5,6,8,13,18,22,26,30,49,52,54,55,63 .…”

“…In first attempts maximum emission frequencies near 1.05 THz were obtained 24,68 . This value was recently improved to 2.4 THz for disk-shaped stacks 33 . In terms of modeling, many calculations of electrodynamics have been based on a homogeneous temperature distribution, while calculations of the thermal properties were based on solving the heat diffusion equations in the absence of Josephson currents 49,52,54 .…”

Applications using high-Tc superconducting terahertz emitters

“…The unique (sub-) THz source based on a single-crystalline mesa structure of the high transition-temperature T c superconductor Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+ δ (Bi2212) was first reported in 200716, and its subsequent development has proceeded rapidly171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546. Output radiation powers of a few tens of μ W have been consistently achieved from single conventional mesas3743,44, and of about 600  μ W was reported from a synchronized conventional three-mesa array45, and the radiation frequency could be varied almost continuously between 0.3 and 2.4 THz from a stand-alone mesa sandwich device46.…”

Preparation of (11n) oriented Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x thin films without c-axis twin structure by the metal-organic decomposition method using vicinal SrTiO3 (110) substrates

“…It has already been proved that a µW class continuous coherent terahertz wave can be oscillated. [1][2][3][4] The oscillation power is up to 0.61 mW when forming a three array structure with the IJJ stack as a unit. 2 The oscillation frequency of this device can be tuned by bias current and hot bath temperature.…”

“…3 Its frequency bandwidth is up to 1.9 THz (0.5 ∼ 2.4 THz). 4 The major preparation methods thus far have been reported on c-axis oriented Bi2212 which requires complicated procedures and dry etching, such as a precisely controlled etching process in depth direction in order to form the c-axis current paths. If a non-c-axis oriented thin film of which the c-axis parallel or incline to the substrate surface can be prepared, planar type IJJ devices can be a E-mail: yyamada@oyama-ct.ac.jp fabricate simply by forming current paths parallel to the substrate.…”