Resonant crossover of terahertz loss to the gain of a Bloch oscillating InAs/AlSb superlattice.

Terahertz absorption in waveguides loaded with InAs/AlSb super-superlattice mesas reveals a frequency dependent crossover from loss to gain that is related to the Stark ladder produced by an applied dc electric field. Electric field domains appear to be suppressed in the super-superlattice composed of many very short segments of superlattice, interrupted by heavily doped InAs regions. Resonant crossover is indicated by an increase in terahertz transmission as the Stark splitting or Bloch frequency determined by the applied dc electric field exceeds the measurement frequency.