Performance Metrics of an Electronically-Tunable IR Laser as a Source for Continuous-Wave 1550 nm Photomixers

This paper reports on the performance of an electrically-tuned IR laser package used to drive 1550 nm continuous-wave photomixers. Unlike other 1550 nm based drive lasers that select the THz output frequency by temperature-tuning the IR laser wavelength, the pump lasers used in this study can be electronically tuned across the entire C-band, allowing quick selection of the THz output frequency in the 100 GHz - 1200 GHz band. This work has implications for real-time, multi-frequency imaging applications.