Coupled Cavity Mid-IR Quantum Cascade Lasers Fabricated by Dry Etching

Abstract

<jats:p>In this work, two-section, coupled cavity, mid-IR quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) were characterized in terms of their tuning range and emission stability under operation towards potential application in detection systems. Devices were processed by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) from InP-based heterostructure, designed for emission in the 9.x micrometer range. Single mode devices were demonstrated with a better than 20 dB side mode suppression ratio (SMRS). The fabrication method resulted in improved yield, as well as high repeatability of individual devices. Continuous, mode-hop-free tuning of emission wavelength was observed across ~4.5 cm−1 for the range of temperatures of the heat sink from 15 °C to 70 °C. Using the thermal perturbation in the lasing cavity, in conjunction with controlled hopping between coupled-cavity (CC) modes, we were able to accomplish tuning over the range of up to ~20 cm−1.</jats:p>

Monolithic, Optically Coupled, Multi-Section Mid-IR Quantum Cascade Lasers

“…The fabrication process was similar to the one described reported previously in [13]. A schematic illustration of the device fabrication process is shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Fabrication technology of 3-section CC QCLs was based on the ICP-RIE technique. The process was a slight modification of the standard fabrication process of double-trench waveguide QCL [13,19].…”

“…Therefore, a solution based on a monolithically integrated, coupled-cavity design is proposed, which offers a relatively low fabrication complexity while still yielding a single-mode emission. In our previous paper [13], we described a singlemode emission from 2-section CC QCLs fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB) milling or by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE). These devices were characterized by a stable, single-mode operation and relatively high optical power.…”

Integrated IR Modulator with a Quantum Cascade Laser

“…A compact laser modulator was built using a laser switching high-speed iC-G30 iCSY HG20M module (iC-House Corporation, Bodenheim, Germany) and a laser structure designed at the Institute of Electron Technology (Warsaw, Poland) [26,27]. The module is equipped with six channels, providing a speed of up to 250 MHz, current pulses of up to 5 A (per channel), and an output voltage of 30 V. Its main capabilities are independent and simple voltage control of channel currents, parallel channel operation of up to 6 A (constant mode) and up to 30 A (pulsed mode), and thermal shutdown.…”

Особенности одночастотной генерации в квантово-каскадных лазерах спектрального диапазона 7.5-8.0 &mu;m с малой длиной резонатора

“…В свою очередь применение различных подходов, основанных на использовании связанных резонаторов [4][5][6][7], позволяет исключить необходимость применения относительно сложных методов электронной лучевой литографии, что особенно актуально, когда нет требования к величине исходящей мощности, а требуется только узкая линия излучения с относительно малой мощностью (например, для анализаторов остаточных газов). Один из перспективных подходов предложен в работах [8][9][10][11] и позволяет осуществить селекцию мод за счет наличия секции резонатора малой длины.…”