Microwave frequency comb attributed to the formation of dipoles at the surface of a semiconductor by a mode-locked ultrafast laser

The generation of terahertz radiation by focusing a mode-locked ultrafast laser on the surface of a semiconductor was demonstrated by Zhang in 1990, and others have made numerous measurements and analyses of this effect. We have measured the surge current which causes this radiation, showing that this current, and presumably the radiation, are frequency combs with harmonics at integer multiples of the pulse repetition rate of the laser. The harmonics in the current are enhanced by placing the semiconductor in a tunneling junction, where the fundamental is increased by 8 dB with a DC tunneling current of 100 pA. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4768952]