Electrically pumped semiconductor laser with monolithic control of circular polarization

We demonstrate surface emission of terahertz (THz) frequency radiation from a monolithic quantum cascade laser with built-in control over the degree of circular polarization by “fishbone” gratings composed of orthogonally oriented aperture antennas. Different grating concepts for circularly polarized emission are introduced along with the presentation of simulations and experimental results. Fifth-order gratings achieve a degree of circular polarization of up to 86% within a 12°-wide core region of their emission lobes in the far field. For devices based on an alternative transverse grating design, degrees of circular polarization as high as 98% are demonstrated for selected far-field regions of the outcoupled THz radiation and within a collection half-angle of about 6°. Potential and limitations of integrated antenna gratings for polarization-controlled emission are discussed.