Waveguide-integration and packaging of terahertz quantum-cascade lasers for Earth observation instrumentation

Salih, M. orcid.org/0009-0001-6882-4642, Kondawar, S.S., Daghestani, N. et al. (16 more authors) (2026) Waveguide-integration and packaging of terahertz quantum-cascade lasers for Earth observation instrumentation. In: 2025 50th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz). 2025 50th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz), 17-22 Aug 2025, Helsinki, Finland. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. ISBN: 979-8-3503-7884-9. ISSN: 2162-2027. EISSN: 2162-2035.

Abstract

We demonstrate a range of schemes for the integration and packaging of terahertz quantum-cascade lasers (THz QCLs) for satellite applications. This includes embedding within precision-micromachined waveguide/diagonal feedhorn modules, enabling near-Gaussian far-field emission, and photonic integration with power modulators. We present an analysis of solder-mounting and packaging on device performance and show that modulation bandwidths exceeding 4 GHz can be obtained through integration with robust coplanar RF waveguides.

Metadata

Item Type:	Proceedings Paper
Authors/Creators:	Salih, M. https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6882-4642 Kondawar, S.S. Daghestani, N. Elumalai, J. Brown, A. North, N.K. Brewster, N. Nuttall, E.V. Kundu, I. Han, Y. Li, L.H. Linfield, E.H. Alderman, B. Wang, H. Huggard, P.G. Dean, P. Freeman, J.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5493-6352 Ellison, B.N. Valavanis, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5565-0463
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	This is an author produced version of a proceedings paper published in 2025 50th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz), made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords:	Radio frequency, Performance evaluation, Satellites, Millimeter wave devices, Modulation, Waveguide lasers, Packaging, Quantum cascade lasers, Laser applications, Photonics
Dates:	Published (online): 14 January 2026 Published: 14 January 2026
Institution:	The University of Leeds
Academic Units:	The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Leeds)
Funding Information:	Funder Grant number Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation Not Known UK Space Agency Supplier No: 215003194 Not Known MRC (Medical Research Council) MR/S016929/1. MRC (Medical Research Council) MR/Y011775/1
Date Deposited:	10 Feb 2026 11:50
Last Modified:	10 Feb 2026 11:55
Published Version:	https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11319925
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Identification Number:	10.1109/irmmw-thz61557.2025.11319925
Related URLs:	Dataset
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:237612