Articles you may be interested inLow divergence single-mode surface emitting quantum cascade ring lasers Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 161101 (2008); 10.1063/1.3000630 High-power, continuous-wave operation of distributed-feedback quantum-cascade lasers at λ ∼ 7.8 μ m Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 251119 (2006); 10.1063/1.2408639 Room-temperature, high-power, and continuous-wave operation of distributed-feedback quantum-cascade lasers at λ ∼ 9.6 μ m Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 201114 (2006); 10.1063/1.2205730High-power, room-temperature, and continuous-wave operation of distributed-feedback quantum-cascade lasers at λ ∼ 4.8 μ m Appl. Phys. Lett.

The authors report on substrate emitting ring cavity quantum cascade lasers that feature linearly polarized emission beams at an emission wavelength of 8.8 μm. A central lobed far field is achieved by a modification of the distributed feedback grating, at which two π phase-shifts at an angular distance of 180° are applied. In this central lobe, 80% linear polarization is measured. In order to extend this polarization property to the whole far field, an on-chip wire grid polarizer is used. These devices show linearly polarized substrate emission with an extinction ratio higher than 1:16.

We present the time-resolved comparison of pulsed 2nd order ring cavity surface emitting (RCSE) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) and pulsed 1st order ridge-type distributed feedback (DFB) QCLs using a step-scan Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer. Laser devices were part of QCL arrays and fabricated from the same laser material. Required grating periods were adjusted to account for the grating order. The step-scan technique provided a spectral resolution of 0.1 cm(-1) and a time resolution of 2 ns. As a result, it was possible to gain information about the tuning behavior and potential mode-hops of the investigated lasers. Different cavity-lengths were compared, including 0.9 mm and 3.2 mm long ridge-type and 0.97 mm (circumference) ring-type cavities. RCSE QCLs were found to have improved emission properties in terms of line-stability, tuning rate and maximum emission time compared to ridge-type lasers.

We present a technique for enhancing the light output power of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) by tilting of the front facet, which leads to a change of the modal reflectivity, resulting in an asymmetric light intensity distribution along the laser cavity. This asymmetry provides most of the light being emitted through one facet of the laser. An experimental study of threshold current, slope efficiency and light output power as a function of the front facet angles were performed and compared to conventional QCLs. The lasers with a front facet angle of 8° shows a 20% improved power output from the front facet.

We introduce ring lasers with continuous π-phase shifts in the second order distributed feedback grating. This configuration facilitates insights into the nature of the modal outcoupling in an optical cavity. The grating exploits the asymmetry of whispering gallery modes and induces a rotation of the far field pattern. We find that this rotation can be connected to the location of the mode relative to the grating. Furthermore, the direction of rotation depends on the radial order of the whispering gallery mode. This enables a distinct identification and characterization of the mode by simple analysis of the emission beam.