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.

Accuracy Improvement of Blood Glucose Measurement System Using Quantum Cascade Lasers

For non-invasive measurement of blood glucose levels, a measurement system based on mid-infrared, attenuated-total-reflection spectroscopy equipped with hollow optical fibers, a trapezoidal multi-reflection prism, and two fixed-wavelength quantum cascade lasers emitting different wavelengths is proposed. From the absorption spectra of lip mucosa measured by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, two wavelengths, 1152 cm-1 for absorption by glucose and 1186 cm-1 for the background, were chosen. To reduce measurement errors, the power distribution on the prism surface was investigated, and it was found that some high-intensity spots appear on the prism surface due to the coherency of the laser beam. This inhomogeneous power distribution causes measurement errors for slight movements of the lip mucosa. To homogenize the intensity distribution on the prism, a lens to excite higher modes in the fiber was introduced, and the incident angle was changed to suppress interference due to back-reflected light. These improvements increased the measurement stability, and in-vivo experiments demonstrated that the measured optical absorption correlates well with blood glucose levels.

Single-Mode Fabry-Pérot Quantum Cascade Lasers at λ~10.5 μm

In this paper, we report a single-mode Fabry-Pérot long wave infrared quantum cascade lasers based on the double phonon resonance active region design. For room temperature CW operation, the wafer with 35 stages was processed into buried heterostructure lasers. For a 4 mm long and 13 μm wide laser with high-reflectivity (HR) coating on the rear facet, continuous wave output power of 43 mW at 288 K and 5 mW at 303 K is obtained with threshold current densities of 2.17 and 2.7 kA/cm2. The lasing wavelength is around 10.5 μm. Single mode emission was observed for this particular device over the whole investigated current and temperature range.

Low Power Consumption Distributed-Feedback Quantum Cascade Lasers Operating in Continuous-Wave Mode above 90℃ at λ～7.2μm

We report on the design and fabrication of λ-7.2μm distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers lot very high temperature cw operation and low electrical power consumption. The cw operation is reported above 90℃. For a 2-mm-long and 10-μm-wide laser coated with high-reflectivity on the rear facet, more than 170mW of output power is obtained at 20℃ with a threshold power consumption of 2.4 W, corresponding to 30mW with a threshold power consumption of 3.9 W at 90℃. Robust single-mode emission with a side-mode suppression ratio above 25 dB is continuously tunable by the heat sink temperature or injection current.

An equivalent circuit model for terahertz quantum cascade lasers:Modeling and experiments

Terahertz quantum cascade lasers（THz QCLs） emitted at 4.4 THz are fabricated and characterized. An equivalent circuit model is established based on the five-level rate equations to describe their characteristics. In order to illustrate the capability of the model, the steady and dynamic performances of the fabricated THz QCLs are simulated by the model.Compared to the sophisticated numerical methods, the presented model has advantages of fast calculation and good compatibility with circuit simulation for system-level designs and optimizations. The validity of the model is verified by the experimental and numerical results.

Very low threshold operation of quantum cascade lasers

A strain-compensated InP-based quantum cascade laser（QCL） structure emitting at 4.6 μm is demonstrated,based on a two-phonon resonant design and grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy（MBE）.By optimizing the growth parameters,a very high quality heterostructure with the lowest threshold current densities ever reported for QCLs was fabricated.Threshold current densities as low as 0.47 kA/cm^2 in pulsed operation and 0.56 kA/cm^2 in continuous-wave（cw） operation at 293 K were achieved for this state-of-the-art QCL.A minimum power consumption of 3.65 W was measured for the QCL,uncooled,with a high-reflectivity（HR） coating on its rear facet.

Periodic and chaotic oscillations in mutual-coupled mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

Dynamic states in mutual-coupled mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers(QCLs) were numerically investigated in the parameter space of injection strength and detuning frequency based on the Lang-Kobayashi equations model. Three types of period-one states were found, with different periods of injection time delay τ_(inj), 2τ_(inj), and reciprocal of the detuning frequency. Besides, square-wave, quasi-period, pulse-burst and chaotic oscillations were also observed. It is concluded that external-cavity periodic dynamics and optical modes beating are the mainly periodic dynamics. The interaction of the two periodic dynamics and the high-frequency dynamics stimulated by strong injection induces the dynamic states evolution.This work helps to understand the dynamic behaviors in QCLs and shows a new way to mid-infrared wide-band chaotic laser.

Room Temperature Operation of Strain-Compensated 5.5μm Quantum Cascade Lasers

Room temperature operation is an important criterion for high performance of quantum cascade lasers. A strain-compensated quantum cascade laser（λ≈5.5μm） with optimized waveguide structure lasing at room temperature is reported. Accurate control of layer thickness and strain-compensated material composition is demonstrated using X-ray diffraction. An output power of at least 45mW per facet is realized for a 20μm-wide and 2mm-long laser at room temperature.

Single-Mode Fabry-Pérot Quantum Cascade Lasers at λ ~10.5 μm

In this paper, we report a single-mode Fabry-Pérot long wave infrared quantum cascade lasers based on the double phonon resonance active region design. For room temperature CW operation, the wafer with 35 stages was processed into buried heterostructure lasers. For a 4 mm long and 13 μm wide laser with high-reflectivity (HR) coating on the rear facet, continuous wave output power of 43 mW at 288 K and 5 mW at 303 K is obtained with threshold current densities of 2.17 and 2.7 kA/cm2. The lasing wavelength is around 10.5 μm. Single mode emission was observed for this particular device over the whole investigated current and temperature range.

Continuous-Wave Operation of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers at 3.2 THz

We demonstrate continuous-wave(cw)operation of terahertz(THz)quantum cascade lasers emitting at 3.2 THz based on bound-to-continuum active region and semi-insulating surface-plasmon waveguide design.Optical power of 62 mW with a threshold current density of 285 A/cm^(2)is obtained at 10 K from a 130-μm-wide and 1.5-mm-long laser in cw operation.Maximum cw operation temperature is up to 60 K.In pulsed mode,peak optical power more than 100 mW at 10 K and 2.1 mW at 85 K are observed from a 230-μm-wide and 2-mm-long device.

High-Power and High-Efficiency Operation of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers at 3.3 THz

A high-power and high-effciency GaAs/A1GaAs-based terahertz （THz） quantum cascade laser structure emitting at 3.3 THz is presented. The structure is based on a hybrid bound-to-continuum transition and resonant-phonon extraction active region combined with a semi-insulating surface-plasmon waveguide. By optimizing material structure and device processing, the peak optical output power of 758mW with a threshold current density of 120 A/cm2 and a wall-plug effciency of 0.92% at 10K and 404mW at 77K are obtained in pulsed operation. The maximum operating temperature is as high as llS K. In the cw mode, a record optical output power of 160roW with a threshold current density of 178A/cm2 and a wall-plug efficiency of 1.32% is achieved at 1OK.

Optical facet coatings for high-performance LWIR quantum cascade lasers atλ∼8.5μm

We report on the performance improvement of long-wave infrared quantum cascade lasers(LWIR QCLs)by studying and optimizing the anti-reflection(AR)optical facet coating.Compared to the Al2O3 AR coat⁃ing,the Y_(2)O_(3)AR coating exhibits higher catastrophic optical mirror damage(COMD)level,and the optical facet coatings of both material systems have no beam steering effect.A 3-mm-long,9.5-μm-wide buried-heterostruc⁃ture(BH)LWIR QCL ofλ~8.5μm with Y_(2)O_(3)metallic high-reflection(HR)and AR of~0.2%reflectivity coating demonstrates a maximum pulsed peak power of 2.19 W at 298 K,which is 149%higher than that of the uncoated device.For continuous-wave(CW)operation,by optimizing the reflectivity of the Y_(2)O_(3)AR coating,the maximum output power reaches 0.73 W,which is 91%higher than that of the uncoated device.

Dynamics of InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers epitaxially grown on Ge or Si substrate

Growing semiconductor laser sources on silicon is a crucial but challenging technology for developing photonic integrated circuits(PICs).InAs/GaAs quantum dot(Qdot)lasers have successfully circumvented the mismatch problem betweenⅢ–Ⅴmaterials and Ge or Si,and have demonstrated efficient laser emission.In this paper,we review dynamical characteristics of Qdot lasers epitaxially grown on Ge or Si,in comparison with those of Qdot lasers on native GaAs substrate.We discuss properties of linewidth broadening factor,laser noise and its sensitivity to optical feedback,intensity modulation,as well as mode locking operation.The investigation of these dynamical characteristics is beneficial for guiding the design of PICs in optical communications and optical computations.

Theoretical Investigation of Electronic and Optical Properties of Si/SiGe Quantum Cascade Structures

This paper reviews the basic properties of the SiGe alloy, presents some new results on its electronic and optical properties, and discusses the approach that has been followed to model quantum wells containing SiGe layers for applications in quantum cascade lasers. The shape of the confining potential, the subband energies and their eigen envelope wave functions are calculated by solving a one-dimensional Schr?dinger equation. The calculations of optical parameters are used to optimize the Si/SiGe quantum cascade structures. Our results are found to be in good agreement with other calculations.

Beam steering characteristics in high-power quantum-cascade lasers emitting at∼4.6µm

A beam steering effect of high-power quantum cascade(QC) lasers emitting at 4.6 μm was investigated. The continuous wave(CW) output power of an uncoated, 6-mm-long, 7.5-μm-wide buried-heterostructure QC laser at 25℃ was as high as 854.2 m W. The maximum beam steering angle was offset by ±14.2° from the facet normal(0°) in pulsed mode. The phenomenon was judged explicitly by combining the diffraction limit theory and Fourier transform of the spectra. It was also verified by finite element method software simulation and the calculation of two-dimensional(2 D)effective-index model. The observed steering is consistent with a theory for coherence between the two lowest order lateral modes. Therefore, we have established an intrinsic linkage between the spectral instabilities and the beam steering by using the Fourier transform of the spectra, and further presented an extremely valid method to judge the beam steering. The content of this method includes both three equidistant peak positions in the Fourier transform of the spectra and the beam quality located between once the diffraction limit(DL) and twice the DL.

Rapid Detection of Accelerants in Fire Debris Using a Field Portable Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Laser Based Analyzer

Arson presents a challenging crime scene for fire investigators worldwide. Key to the investigation of suspected arson cases is the analysis of fire debris for the presence of accelerants or ignitable liquids. This study has investigated the application and method development of vapor phase mid-Infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy using a field portable quantum cascade laser (QCL) based system for the detection and identification of accelerant residues such as gasoline, diesel, and ethanol in fire debris. A searchable spectral library of various ignitable fluids and fuel components measured in the vapor phase was constructed that allowed for real-time identification of accelerants present in samples using software developed in-house. Measurement of vapors collected from paper material that had been doused with an accelerant followed by controlled burning and then extinguished with water showed that positive identification could be achieved for gasoline, diesel, and ethanol. This vapor phase mid-IR QCL method is rapid, easy to use, and has the sensitivity and discrimination capability that make it well suited for non-destructive crime scene sample analysis. Sampling and measurement can be performed in minutes with this 7.5 kg instrument. This vibrational spectroscopic method required no time-consuming sample pretreatment or complicated solvent extraction procedure. The results of this initial feasibility study demonstrate that this portable fire debris analyzer would greatly benefit arson investigators performing analysis on-site.

Design of 1.33 μm and 1.55 μm Wavelengths Quantum Cascade Photodetector

In this paper, a quantum cascade photodetector based on intersubband transitions in quantum wells with ability of detecting 1.33 μm and 1.55 μm wavelengths in two individual current paths is introduced. Multi quantum wells structures based on III-Nitride materials due to their large band gaps are used. In order to calculate the photodetector parameters, wave functions and energy levels are obtained by solving 1-D Schrodinger–Poisson equation self consistently at 80 ?K. Responsivity values are about 22 mA/W and 18.75 mA/W for detecting of 1.33 μm and 1.55 μm wavelengths, respectively. Detectivity values are calculated as 1.17 × 107 (Jones) and 2.41 × 107 (Jones) at wavelengths of 1.33 μm and 1.55 μm wavelengths, respectively.

Advantageous properties of halide perovskite quantum dots towards energy-efficient sustainable applications

As lead halide perovskite(LHP)semiconductors have shown tremendous promise in many application fields,and particularly made strong impact in the solar photovoltaic area,low dimensional quantum dot forms of these perovskites are showing the potential to make distinct marks in the fields of electronics,optoelectronics and photonics.The so-called perovskite quantum dots(PQDs)not only possess the most important features of LHP materials,i.e.,the unusual high defect tolerance,but also demonstrate clear quantum size effects,along with exhibiting desirable optoelectronic properties such as near perfect photoluminescent quantum yield,multiple exciton generation and slow hot-carrier cooling.Here,we review the advantageous properties of these nanoscale perovskites and survey the prospects for diverse applications which include lightemitting devices,solar cells,photocatalysts,lasers,detectors and memristors,emphasizing the distinct superiorities as well as the challenges.

Recent progress in epitaxial growth of Ⅲ–Ⅴ quantum-dot lasers on silicon substrate

In the past few decades,numerous high-performance silicon(Si)photonic devices have been demonstrated.Si,as a photonic platform,has received renewed interest in recent years.Efficient Si-basedⅢ–Ⅴquantum-dot(QDs)lasers have long been a goal for semiconductor scientists because of the incomparable optical properties of Ⅲ–Ⅴcompounds.Although the material dissimilarity betweenⅢ–Ⅴmaterial and Si hindered the development of monolithic integrations for over 30 years,considerable breakthroughs happened in the 2000s.In this paper,we review recent progress in the epitaxial growth of various Ⅲ–ⅤQD lasers on both offcut Si substrate and on-axis Si(001)substrate.In addition,the fundamental challenges in monolithic growth will be explained together with the superior characteristics of QDs.