Interband cascade technology for energy-efficient mid-infrared free-space communication

Abstract

Space-to-ground high-speed transmission is of utmost importance for the development of a worldwide broadband network. Mid-infrared wavelengths offer numerous advantages for building such a system, spanning from low atmospheric attenuation to eye-safe operation and resistance to inclement weather conditions. We demonstrate a full interband cascade system for high-speed transmission around a wavelength of 4.18 µm. The low-power consumption of both the laser and the detector in combination with a large modulation bandwidth and sufficient output power makes this technology ideal for a free-space optical communication application. Our proof-of-concept experiment employs a radio-frequency optimized Fabry–Perot interband cascade laser and an interband cascade infrared photodetector based on a type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice. The bandwidth of the system is evaluated to be around 1.5 GHz. It allows us to achieve data rates of 12 Gbit/s with an on–off keying scheme and 14 Gbit/s with a 4-level pulse amplitude modulation scheme. The quality of the transmission is enhanced by conventional pre- and post-processing in order to be compatible with standard error-code correction.

Progress in high-speed optical links in the 8-12 microns thermal atmospheric window from the perspective of unipolar quantum technology

“…Conventional signal pre-processing and post-processing are implemented and enable these multi-Gbit/s transmission rates, with the QWIP-scheme results exceeding the state-of-the-art demonstrations with direct QCL modulation or direct ICL modulation. 14,15 These results provide a path towards wide-scale adoption in relevant free-space telecommunication applications.…”

Free-space communications and quantum photonics: advancements in mid-infrared interband cascade lasers

“…Further details about the laser structure can be found elsewhere. 6 The laser operates at room temperature (298K), and a homemade battery source is employed to supply the bias current, minimizing current noise into the laser's active region. For high-speed electrical modulation of the ICL, we used a Socionext arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) with a sampling rate of 120 GS/s and an analogue 3-dB bandwidth of 30 GHz.…”

“…Additionally, compared to their QCL counterparts, ICLs are more attractive for applications requiring low power consumption. 6 In addition, they can bypass fast phonon scattering losses while achieving sufficiently high output powers, on the order of tens of milliwatts. 3 Ultimately, advancing mid-infrared integrated photonics stands as a crucial milestone in expanding the application scope of ICL technology.…”

Investigation of spatial hole burning and linewidth enhancement factor impact on distributed-feedback quantum cascade lasers dynamics

“…In the contemporary landscape of telecommunications, Free-Space Optics (FSO) has emerged as a compelling and innovative technology for wireless optical communication [1]. Recognized for its inherent advantages, such as immunity to electromagnetic interference and the potential for secure data transmission [2,3], FSO stands out as a promising solution to circumvent spectrum congestion and physical infrastructure requirements associated respectively with traditional radio-frequency (RF) and optical fiber technologies.…”