Application of high-speed quantum cascade detectors for mid-infrared, broadband, high-resolution spectroscopy

Abstract

Broadband, high-resolution, heterodyne, mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy was per-formed with a high-speed quantum cascade (QC) detector. By strictly reducing the device capaci-tance and inductance via air-bridge wiring and a small mesa structure, a 3-dB frequency response over 20 GHz was obtained for the QC detector, which had a 4.6-μm peak wavelength response. In addition to the high-speed, it exhibited low noise characteristics limited only by Johnson–Nyquist noise, bias-free operation without cooling, and photoresponse linearity over a wide dynamic range. In the detector characterization, the noise-equivalent power was 7.7 × 10−11 W/Hz1/2 at 4.6 μm, and it had good photoresponse linearity up to 250 mW, with respect to the input light power. Broadband and high-accuracy molecular spectroscopy based on heterodyne detection was demonstrated by means of two distributed-feedback 4.5-μm QC lasers. Specifically, several nitrous oxide absorption lines were acquired over a wavelength range of 0.8 cm−1 with the wide-band QC detector.