Quantum cascade lasers grown by MOCVD

Abstract

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.