Challenges for mid-IR interband cascade lasers

I. Vurgaftman; M. Kim; C. S. Kim; W. W. Bewley; C. L. Canedy; J. R. Lindle; J. Abell; J. R. Meyer

doi:10.1117/12.844678

12 February 2010 Challenges for mid-IR interband cascade lasers

I. Vurgaftman, M. Kim, C. S. Kim, W. W. Bewley, C. L. Canedy, J. R. Lindle, J. Abell, J. R. Meyer

Proceedings Volume 7616, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers IX; 761619 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.844678
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2010, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We review the state-of-the-art performance of interband cascade lasers emitting in the 3-5 μm spectral band and discuss the prospects for future improvements. New five-stage designs produce a combination of pulsed roomtemperature threshold current densities of 400-500 A/cm² and internal losses as low as ≈ 6 cm^-1 for broad-area devices. A 4.4-μm-wide ridge fabricated from one of these wafers and emitting at 3.7 μm lased cw to 335 K, which is the highest cw operating temperature for any semiconductor laser in the 3.0-4.6 μm spectral range. A 10-μm-wide ridge with high-reflection and anti-reflection facet coatings produced up to 59 mW of cw power at 298 K, and displayed a maximum wall-plug efficiency of 3.4%. Corrugated-sidewall distributed-feedback lasers from similar material produce 45 mW of cw power in a single spectral mode at -20°C, with maximum wall-plug efficiency of 7.6%. The current tuning range for temperatures between 0 and 25°C is ≥11 nm.

Citation Download Citation

I. Vurgaftman, M. Kim, C. S. Kim, W. W. Bewley, C. L. Canedy, J. R. Lindle, J. Abell, and J. R. Meyer "Challenges for mid-IR interband cascade lasers", Proc. SPIE 7616, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers IX, 761619 (12 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.844678

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