Project description
Graphene could emit laser light in the terahertz range
Terahertz radiation has the potential to foster innovations in medicine, biology, materials science and telecommunications, but its deployment is held back by a lack of compact powerful sources. For example, there aren't any appropriate materials with a sufficiently small band gap for the development of semiconductor lasers emitting at terahertz frequencies. The EU-funded LEON project addresses this scientific and technological gap with new semiconductor laser schemes that integrate graphene-based materials. Graphene is potentially an excellent candidate material for terahertz lasers owing to its 'zero' band gap. To suppress non-radiative recombination mechanisms that could drastically limit the feasibility of a terahertz laser, the project is exploiting the discrete electronic states in graphene quantum dots.
Objective
The ambition of this project is to open new horizons in the field of graphene-based devices for THz technology. The major objective is to develop compact THz amplifiers and lasers operating at room temperature, analogous to the concept of semiconductor lasers in the visible and telecom wavelength range.
THz radiation is extremely attractive for fundamental investigations of matter and emerging applications including, for example, security screening, medical imaging and spectroscopy. However, the THz spectral range remains one of the least exploited spectral regions, mainly due to the lack of compact powerful sources. The development of the typical semiconductor-laser scheme emitting at THz frequencies has been seriously hampered by the absence of an appropriate material with a sufficiently small bandgap. The LEON project addresses this technological and scientific blocking point with new semiconductor-laser schemes for THz emission centered on the integration of graphene-based materials.
Indeed, graphene is potentially an excellent candidate for a THz semiconductor-laser model owing to its ‘zero’ bandgap. However, non-radiative recombination mechanisms, especially Auger recombination, reduce the lifetime of the optical gain to few hundreds of femtoseconds. This phenomenon drastically limits the feasibility of a THz laser. In order to suppress these detrimental non-radiative processes, a new concept is needed. The project proposes to exploit the full discretization of electronic states in graphene quantum dots. This high-risk high-gain project will provide important and far-reaching scientific advances, which cannot be achieved with the current state-of-the-art approaches.
This project has three major cornerstones: i) the demonstration of THz amplifiers based on graphene quantum dots, ii) the demonstration of THz lasers based on graphene quantum dots in a microcavity, iii) the exploitation of these THz amplifiers/lasers for security and communication applications.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructuresgraphene
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imaging
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantHost institution
75794 Paris
France