Phase-locked single-mode terahertz quantum cascade lasers array

We demonstrated a scheme of phase-locked terahertz quantum cascade lasers(THz QCLs)array,with a single-mode pulse power of 108 mW at 13 K.The device utilizes a Talbot cavity to achieve phase locking among five ridge lasers with first-order buried distributed feedback(DFB)grating,resulting in nearly five times amplification of the single-mode power.Due to the optimum length of Talbot cavity depends on wavelength,the combination of Talbot cavity with the DFB grating leads to better power amplification than the combination with multimode Fabry-Perot(F-P)cavities.The Talbot cavity facet reflects light back to the ridge array direction and achieves self-imaging in the array,enabling phase-locked operation of ridges.We set the spacing between adjacent elements to be 220μm,much larger than the free-space wavelength,ensuring the operation of the fundamental supermode throughout the laser's dynamic range and obtaining a high-brightness far-field distribution.This scheme provides a new approach for enhancing the single-mode power of THz QCLs.

Quantum cascade lasers grown by MOCVD

Sharing the advantages of high optical power,high efficiency and design flexibility in a compact size,quantum cascade lasers(QCLs)are excellent mid-to-far infrared laser sources for gas sensing,infrared spectroscopic,medical diagnosis,and defense applications.Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD)is an important technology for growing high quality semiconductor materials,and has achieved great success in the semiconductor industry due to its advantages of high efficiency,short maintenance cycles,and high stability and repeatability.The utilization of MOCVD for the growth of QCL materials holds a significant meaning for promoting the large batch production and industrial application of QCL devices.This review summarizes the recent progress of QCLs grown by MOCVD.Material quality and the structure design together determine the device performance.Research progress on the performance improvement of MOCVD-grown QCLs based on the optimization of material quality and active region structure are mainly reviewed.

Influence of Frohlich Interaction on Intersubband Transitions of InGaAs/InAlAs-Based Quantum Cascade Detector Structures Investigated by Infrared Modulated Photoluminescence

We demonstrate the use of an infrared modulated photoluminescence(PL)method based on a step-scan Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer to analyze intersubband transition(ISBT)of InGaAs/InAlAs quantum cascade detector(QCD)structures.By configuring oblique and parallel excitation geometries,high signal-to-noise ratio PL spectra in near-to-far-infrared region are measured.With support from numerical calculations based on the k·p perturbation theory,the spectra is attributed to intraband and interband transitions of InGaAs/InAlAs QCD structures.Temperature evolution results show that the k-dependent transitions caused by longitudinal optical phonon-assisted scattering(Frohlich interaction)plays an important role in the ISBT.These results suggest that this infrared modulated-PL method has great potential in characterizing QCD devices and conducting performance diagnostics.

Anti-symmetric sampled grating quantum cascade laser for mode selection

For mode selection in a quantum cascade laser(QCL),we demonstrate an anti-symmetric sampled grating(ASG).The wavelength of the-1-th mode of this laser has been blue-shifted more than 75 nm(~10 cm^(-1))compared with that of an ordinary sampled grating laser with an emission wavelength of approximately 8.6μm,when the periodicities within both the base grating and the sample grating are kept constant.Under this condition,an improvement in the continuous tuning capability of the QCL array is ensured.The ASG structure is fabricated in holographic exposure and optical photolithography,thereby enhancing its flexibility,repeatability,and cost-effectiveness.The wavelength modulation capability of the two channels of the grating is insensitive to the variations in channel size,assuming that the overall waveguide width remains constant.The output wavelength can be tailored freely within a certain range by adjusting the width of the ridge and the material of the cladding layer.

High powerλ~8.5μm quantum cascade laser grown by MOCVD operating continuous-wave up to 408 K

Robust quantum cascade laser(QCL)enduring high temperature continuous-wave(CW)operation is of critical importance for some applications.We report on the realization of lattice-matched InGaAs/InAlAs/InP QCL materials grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD).High interface quality structures designed for light emission at 8.5μm are achieved by optimizing and precise controlling of growth conditions.A CW output power of 1.04 W at 288 K was obtained from a 4 mm-long and 10μm-wide coated laser.Corresponding maximum wall-plug efficiency and threshold current density were 7.1%and 1.18 kA/cm2,respectively.The device can operate in CW mode up to 408 K with an output power of 160 mW.

Coupled-ridge waveguide quantum cascade laser array lasing at λ~5μm

In this work,we demonstrated high-power quantum cascade laser(QCL)arrays lasing at λ~5μm by employing an optimized coupled-ridge waveguide(CRW)structure.Five-element QCL arrays were simulated and fabricated through a two-step etching method to extend the CRW structure to a mid-wave infrared regime.A lateral far-field with the main peak near a diffraction-limited intensity curve of about 10°was observed by properly designing a geometric shape of the ridges and interspaces.By introducing a buried 2nd-order distributed feedback(DFB)grating,substrate emission with a radiation power above 1 W at 25℃ is achieved.Single longitudinal mode operation is obtained by changing the temperature of the heatsink with a good linear wavelength tuning coefficient of -0.2 cm^(-1)/K.

Mode-switchable dual-color infrared quantum cascade detector

In this paper,a patch-antenna-array enhanced quantum cascade detector with freely switchable operating modes among mid-wave,long-wave,and dual-color was proposed and discussed.The dual-color absorption occurs in a single active region through an optimized coupled miniband diagonal-transition subbands arrangement,and a successful separation of the operation regimes was realized by two nested antenna arrays with different patch sizes up to room temperature.At 77 K,the 5.7-μm channel achieved a peak responsivity of 34.6 mA/W and exhibited a detectivity of 2.0×10^(10)Jones,while the 10.0-μm channel achieved a peak responsivity of 87.5 mA/W,giving a detectivity of 5.0×10^(10)Jones.Under a polarization modulation of the incident light,the minimum cross talk of the mid-wave and the long-wave operating modes was 1:22.5 and 1:7.6,respectively.This demonstration opens a new prospect for multicolor infrared imaging chip integration technology.

Room-temperature continuous-wave InP-based 2.01 μm microcavity lasers in whispering-gallery modes with InGaAsSb quantum well

We demonstrated an electrically pumped InP-based microcavity laser operating in continuous-wave mode.The active region is designed with antimony surfactants to enhance the gain at 2 μm,and a selective electrical isolation scheme is used to secure continuous-wave operation for the microcavity laser at room temperature.The lasers were fabricated as a notched elliptical resonator,resulting in a highly unidirectional far-field profile with an in-plane beam divergence of less than 2°.Single-mode emission was obtained over the entire dynamic range,and the laser frequencies were tuned linearly with the pumping current.Overall,these directional lasers pave the way for portable and highly integrated on-chip sensing applications.

Room temperature continuous-wave operation of a dual-wavelength quantum cascade laser

We report on the design and fabrication of a dual-wavelength switchable quantum cascade laser(QCL)by optimizing thedesign of a homogeneous active region and combining superposed distributed feedback gratings.Coaxial,single-modeemissions at two different wavelengths were achieved only through adjusting the bias voltage.Room temperature continuous-wave operation with output powers of above 30 mW and 75 mW was realized for single-mode emission at 7.61μmand 7.06μm,respectively.The simplified fabrication process and easy wavelength control of our designed dual-wavelengthQCL make it very attractive for developing miniature multi-species gas sensing systems.

High-power distributed feedback lasers based on InP corrugated sidewalls atλ~2μm

We report a high-power single-mode InP-based 2μm distributed feedback(DFB)laser with a second-order buried grating and corrugated sidewalls.A second-order semiconductor grating is used for in-plane feedback and vertical out-coupling.The corrugated sidewalls are used to eliminate higher-order transverse modes.For the DFB laser with a 2 mm long cavity and 15μm wide ridge,the maximum continuous-wave edge-emitting and surface-emitting single-mode powers at 300 K are up to 81 and 42 m W,respectively.A single-lobed far-field radiation pattern with a low divergence angle of approximately 8.6°is achieved by a device with a ridge width of 15μm.The single-longitudinal-mode emission wavelength of the fabricated laser can be adjusted from2003.8 nm at 288 K to 2006.9 nm at 313 K without any mode hopping.Robust single-mode emission with a side-mode suppression ratio of 30 dB is achieved under all injection currents and temperature conditions.

Dual-mode distributed feedback quantum cascade laser based on stacked 3D monolithic integration for on-chip multi-channel gas sensing

To facilitate the development of on-chip integrated mid-infrared multi-channel gas sensing systems,we propose a high-power dual-mode(7.01 and 7.5μm)distributed feedback quantum cascade laser based on stacked 3D monolithic integration.Longitudinal mode control is achieved by preparing longitudinal nested bi-periodic compound one-dimensional Bragg gratings along the direction of the cavity length in the confinement layer.Additionally,transverse coherent coupling ridges perpendicular to the cavity length direction are fabricated in the upper waveguide layer to promote the fundamental transverse mode output when all ridges are in phase.Stable dual-wavelength simultaneous emission with a side-mode suppression ratio of more than 20 dB was achieved by holographic exposure and wet etching.The entire spectral tuning range covers nearly 100 nm through joint tuning of the injection current and heat-sink temperature.High peak power and beam quality are guaranteed by the parallel coherent integration of seven-element ridge arrays.The device operates in a fundamental supermode with a single-lobed far-field pattern,and its peak output power reaches 3.36 W in pulsed mode at 20℃.This dual-mode laser chip has the potential for in-situ on-chip simultaneous detection of CH4and C2H6gases in leak monitoring.

Chromosome-level Genomes Reveal the Genetic Basis of Descending Dysploidy and Sex Determination in Morus Plants

Multiple plant lineages have independently evolved sex chromosomes and variable karyotypes to maintain their sessile lifestyles through constant biological innovation.Morus notabilis,a dioecious mulberry species,has the fewest chromosomes among Morus spp.,but the genetic basis of sex determination and karyotype evolution in this species has not been identified.In this study,three high-quality genome assemblies were generated for Morus spp.[including dioecious M.notabilis(male and female)and Morus yunnanensis(female)]with genome sizes of 301–329 Mb and were grouped into six pseudochromosomes.Using a combination of genomic approaches,we found that the putative ancestral karyotype of Morus species was close to 14 protochromosomes,and that several chromosome fusion events resulted in descending dysploidy(2n=2x=12).We also characterized a~6.2-Mb sex-determining region on chromosome 3.Four potential male-specific genes,a partially duplicated DNA helicase gene(named MSDH)and three Ty3_Gypsy long terminal repeat retrotransposons(named MSTG1/2/3),were identified in the Y-linked area and considered to be strong candidate genes for sex determination or differentiation.Population genomic analysis showed that Guangdong accessions in China were genetically similar to Japanese accessions of mulberry.In addition,genomic areas containing selective sweeps that distinguish domesticated mulberry from wild populations in terms of flowering and disease resistance were identified.Our study provides an important genetic resource for sex identification research and molecular breeding in mulberry.

InAs-based interband cascade lasers at 4.0 μm operating at room temperature

InAs-based interband cascade lasers（ICLs） with InAs plasmon waveguides or InAs/AlSb superlattice（SL） waveguides were demonstrated at emission wavelengths below 4.1 μm. The threshold current densities of the lasers with SL waveguides were 37 A/cm;at 77 K in continuous wave mode. The operation temperature of these lasers reached room temperature in pulsed mode. Compared with the thick InAs n++ plasmon cladding layer, the InAs/AlSb superlattice cladding layers have greater advantages for ICLs with wavelengths less than 4 μm even in InAs based ICLs because in the short-wavelength region they have a higher confinement factor than InAs plasmon waveguides.

Continuous-wave single-mode quantum cascade laser at 5.1 THz based on graded sampled grating design

We report on the terahertz(THz)quantum cascade lasers in continuous-wave(CW)operation with an emitting frequency above 5 THz.Excellent performance with a smaller leakage current and higher population inversion efficiency is obtained by one-well bridged bound-to-continuum hybrid quantum design at 5 THz.By designing and fabricating a graded metallic sampled distributed feedback grating in the waveguide,the first single-mode THz quantum cascade laser at 5.13 THz in CW operation mode is achieved.The maximum single-mode optical power of~48 mW is achieved at 15 K with a side-mode suppression ratio above 24 dB.This will draw great interest in the spectroscopy applications above the 5 THz range for THz quantum cascade lasers.

14 μm quantum cascade lasers based on diagonal transition and nonresonant extraction

We report In P-based room-temperature high-average-power quantum cascade lasers emitting at 14 μm. Using a novel active region design, a diagonal bound-to-bound lasing transition is guaranteed by efficient electron injection into the upper laser level and fast nonresonant electron extraction through a miniband from the lower laser level. For a 4 mm long and 40 μm wide double channel ridge waveguide laser with 55 stages of the active region, the threshold current density is only 3.13 k A∕cm^2 at room temperature. At 293 K, the maximum singlefacet peak power and average power are up to 830 m W and 75 m W, respectively. The laser exhibits a characteristic temperature T0 of 395 K over a temperature range from 293 to 353 K.

Room temperature continuous wave operation of quantum cascade laser atλ~9.4μm

Continuous wave（CW） operation of long wave infrared（LWIR） quantum cascade lasers（QCLs） is achieved up to a temperature of 303 K. For room temperature CW operation, the wafer with 35 stages was processed into buried heterostructure lasers. For a 2-mm-long and 10-μm-wide laser with high-reflectivity（HR） coating on the rear facet, CW output power of 45 m W at 283 K and 9 m W at 303 K is obtained. The lasing wavelength is around 9.4 μm locating in the LWIR spectrum range.

Quantum dot quantum cascade photodetector using a laser structure

We report on a quantum dot quantum cascade detector（QD-QCD）, whose structure is derived from a QD cascade laser. In this structure, more ordered In As QD layers formed in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode on a thin Ga As buffer layer are incorporated into the active region. This QD-QCD can operate up to room temperature with a peak detection wavelength of 5.8 μm. A responsivity of 3.1 mA/W at 160 K and a detectivity of 3.6 × 10~8 Jones at 77 K are obtained. The initial performance of the detector is promising, and, by further optimizing the growth of InA s QDs, integrated QD-quantum cascade laser/QCD applications are expected.

Interband cascade lasers with short electron injector

We demonstrate Ga Sb-based interband cascade lasers(ICLs) emitting around 3.65 μm, which exhibit a room-temperature continuous-wave(CW) output power above 100 m W. Cavity-length analysis showed that the laser structure has a low internal loss of 3 cm^(-1) while maintaining a total internal quantum efficiency greater than one. After 6400 h CW operation at 25°C,the threshold current of the laser increased by 3%, and the output power decreased by 7%, indicating good reliability of the device.