Field-resolved high-order sub- cycle nonlinearities in a terahertz semiconductor laser,

• The exploitation of ultrafast electron dynamics in quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) holds enormous potential forintense, compact mode-locked terahertz (THz) sources, squeezed THz light, frequency mixers, and comb-basedmetrology systems. Yet the important sub-cycle dynamics have been notoriously difficult to access in operationalTHz QCLs. Here, we employ high-field THz pulses to perform the first ultrafast two-dimensional spectroscopy of afree-running THz QCL. Strong incoherent and coherent nonlinearities up to eight-wave mixing are detected belowand above the laser threshold. These data not only reveal extremely short gain recovery times of 2 ps at the laserthreshold, they also reflect the nonlinear polarization dynamics of the QCL laser transition for the first time, where wequantify the corresponding dephasing times between 0.9 and 1.5 ps with increasing bias currents. A density-matrixapproach reproducing the emergence of all nonlinearities and their ultrafast evolution, simultaneously, allows us tomap the coherently induced trajectory of the Bloch vector. The observed high-order multi-wave mixing nonlinearitiesbenefit from resonant enhancement in the absence of absorption losses and bear potential for a number of futureapplications, ranging from efficient intracavity frequency conversion, mode proliferation to passive mode locking.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

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