Room temperature continuous wave THz frequency comb based on quantum cascade lasers

Frequency combs, spectra of phase-coherent equidistant lines, have revolutionized time and frequency metrology. The recently developed quantum cascade laser (QCL) comb has exhibits great potential with high power and broadband spectrum. However, in the terahertz (THz) range, cryogenic cooling has to be applied for THz QCL combs. We report a room temperature THz frequency comb at 3.0 THz based on difference-frequency generation from a mid-IR QCL comb. A largely detuned distributed-feedback grating is integrated into the QCL cavity to provide the single mode operation as well as enhanced spatial hole-burning effect for multimode comb operation. Multiheterodyne spectroscopy with multiple equally spaced lines by beating it with a reference Fabry-Perot comb confirms the THz comb operation. This type of THz comb provides a new solution to chip-based high-speed high-resolution THz spectroscopy with compact size at room temperature.