Low-threshold terahertz Si:As laser

The optical threshold of terahertz intracenter arsenic-doped silicon lasers has been reduced by two orders of magnitude by applying a compressive force to the laser crystal. The Si:As lasers were optically excited with radiation from a CO2 laser operating at a wavelength of 10.59μm. The lowest threshold intensity of 8kW∕cm2 was realized at about 3×108Pa stress applied along the [001] crystal axis. The uniaxial stress breaks the resonant interaction of electrons bound to donors with intervalley f phonons. This changes the upper laser state from 2p± to 2p0, lowers the laser threshold, and increases the output power.