We report single-mode continuous-wave operation of a λ∼8 μm quantum cascade laser at 140 K. The threshold current density is 4.2 kA/cm2 at 300 K in pulsed mode and 2.5 kA/cm2 at 140 K in continuous wave for 2 mm long index-guided laser cavities of 20 μm width. Wide stripe (W∼100 μm), index-guided lasers from the same wafer in pulsed operation demonstrate an average T0 of 210 K with other wafers demonstrating a T0 as high as 290 K for temperatures from 80 to 300 K. This improvement in high-temperature performance is a direct result of three factors: excellent material quality, a low-loss waveguide design, and a low-leakage index-guided laser geometry.

We report a low threshold current density and high power for λ∼9 μmAlInAs/GaInAs quantum cascade lasers operating at room temperature. The threshold current density is 1.95 kA/cm2 at 300 K and 0.61 kA/cm2 at 80 K for 5 μs pulses at 200 Hz repetition rate. The peak output power is 700 mW at room temperature and 1.3 W at 80 K per two facets for cavity length is 3 mm with a stripe width of 20 μm. The characteristic temperature T0 is 185 °C. The slope efficiency is 450 and 800 mW/A at 300 and 80 K, respectively. In continuous wave operation, the output power is more than 150 mW at 80 K and 25 mW at 140 K. This high performance was achieved by improving the material growth and processing technology.

We report low-threshold 7.3 μm superlattice-based quantum cascade lasers. The threshold current density is 3.4 kA/cm2 at 300 K and 1.25 kA/cm2 at 79 K in pulsed mode for narrow (∼20 μm), 2-mm-long laser diodes. The characteristic temperature (T0) is 210 K. The slope efficiencies are 153 and 650 mW/A at 300 and 100 K, respectively. Power output is in excess of 100 mW at 300 K. Laser far-field intensity measurements give divergence angles of 64° and 29° in the growth direction and in the plane of the quantum wells, respectively. Far-field simulations show excellent agreement with the measured results.