We report, within a picosecond time scale, fast relaxation and relatively slow recombination dynamics of photogenerated electrons and holes in an exfoliated graphene under infrared pulse excitation. We conduct time-domain spectroscopic studies using an optical pump and terahertz probe with an optical probe technique and show that graphene sheet amplifies an incoming terahertz field. The graphene emission spectral dependency on laser pumping intensity shows a threshold-like behavior, testifying to the occurrence of the negative conductivity and the population inversion. The phase behavior of the measured terahertz electric field also shows clear Lorentzian-like normal dispersion around the gain peak, testifying to the amplification that can be attributed to stimulated emission of photocarriers in the inverted states. The emission spectra clearly narrow at a longer terahertz probe delay time, giving evidence that the quasi-Fermi energy moves closer to the equilibrium at this longer terahertz probe delay time.

We study terahertz (THz) radiation transmission through grating-gate graphene-based nanostructures. We report on room-temperature THz radiation amplification stimulated by current-driven plasmon excitation. Specifically, with an increase of the dc current under periodic charge density modulation, we observe a strong redshift of the resonant THz plasmon absorption, followed by a window of complete transparency to incoming radiation and subsequent amplification and blueshift of the resonant plasmon frequency. Our results are, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental observation of energy transfer from dc current to plasmons leading to THz amplification. Additionally, we present a simple model offering a phenomenological description of the observed THz amplification. This model shows that in the presence of a dc current the radiation-induced correction to dissipation is sensitive to the phase shift between oscillations of carrier density and drift velocity. And, with an increasing current, the dissipation becomes negative, leading to amplification. The experimental results of this work, as all obtained at room-temperature, pave the way toward the new 2D plasmon-based, voltage-tunable THz radiation amplifiers.

This paper reviews recent advances in the research and development of graphene‐based plasmonic metamaterials for terahertz (THz) laser transistors. The authors’ theoretical discovery on THz laser transistors in 2007 was realized as a distributed‐feedback dual‐gate graphene‐channel field‐effect transistor (DFB‐DG‐GFET) in 2018, demonstrating ∼0.1 µW single‐mode emission at 5.2 THz and ∼80 µW amplified spontaneous 1–7.6 THz emission at 100 K. To realize room‐temperature, dry‐cell‐battery operating intense THz lasing with fast direct modulation, various approaches based on graphene plasmonic metamaterials are investigated and introduced as real device implementations, including (i) replacement of the laser photonic cavity with plasmonic cavity enormously improving the THz photon field confinement with larger gain overlapping, (ii) introduction of THz amplification of stimulated emission via current‐driven graphene Dirac plasmons (GDPs), and (iii) controlling the parity and time‐reversal symmetry of GDPs enabling ultrafast direct gain‐switch modulation. Possible real device structures and design constraints are discussed and addressed toward coherent light sources applicable to future 6G‐ and 7G‐class THz wireless communication systems.

Remote sensing systems are largely used in geology for regional mapping of mineralogy and lithology mainly from airborne or spaceborne platforms. Earth observers such as Landsat, ASTER or SPOT are equipped with multispectral sensors, but suffer from relatively poor spectral resolution. By comparison, the existing airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral systems are capable of acquiring imagery from relatively narrow spectral bands, beneficial for detailed analysis of geological remote sensing data. However, for vertical exposures, those platforms are inadequate options since their poor spatial resolutions (metres to tens of metres) and NADIR viewing perspective are unsuitable for detailed field studies. Here, we have demonstrated that field-based approaches that incorporate thermal infrared hyperspectral technology with about a 40-nm bandwidth spectral resolution and tens of centimetres of spatial resolution allow for efficient mapping of the mineralogy and lithology of vertical cliff sections. We used the Telops lightweight and compact passive thermal infrared hyperspectral research instrument for field measurements in the Jura Cement carbonate quarry, Switzerland. The obtained hyperspectral data were analysed using temperature emissivity separation algorithms to isolate the different contributions of self-emission and reflection associated with different carbonate minerals. The mineralogical maps derived from measurements were found to be consistent with the expected carbonate results of the quarry mineralogy. Our proposed approach highlights the benefits of this type of field-based lightweight hyperspectral instruments for routine field applications such as in mining, engineering, forestry or archaeology.