High-Power Infrared (8-Micometer Wavelength) Superlattice Lasers

A quantum-cascade long-wavelength infrared laser based on superlattice active regions has been demonstrated. In this source, electrons injected by tunneling emit photons corresponding to the energy gap (minigap) between two superlattice conduction bands (minibands). A distinctive design feature is t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 276; no. 5313; pp. 773 - 776
Main Authors Scamarcio, Gaetano, Capasso, Federico, Sirtori, Carlo, Faist, Jerome, Hutchinson, Albert F., Sivco, Deborah L., Cho, Alfred Y.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 02.05.1997
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science
Subjects
Efficiency, stability, gain, and other operational parameters
Electrons
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Infrared radiation
Laser optical systems: design and operation
Laser power
Laser spectroscopy
Lasers
Materials
Optical transition
Optics
Physics
Quantum theory
Semiconductor lasers; laser diodes
Semiconductors
Superlattices
Superlattices as materials
Threshold currents
Waveguides
Wavelengths
Gallium arsenides
Semiconductor lasers
Ternary compounds
Quantum wells
Superlattices
Infrared radiation
Experimental study
Pulsed lasers
Indium arsenides
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Summary:A quantum-cascade long-wavelength infrared laser based on superlattice active regions has been demonstrated. In this source, electrons injected by tunneling emit photons corresponding to the energy gap (minigap) between two superlattice conduction bands (minibands). A distinctive design feature is the high oscillator strength of the optical transition. Pulsed operation at a wavelength of about 8 micrometers with peak powers ranging from ∼0.80 watt at 80 kelvin to 0.2 watt at 200 kelvin has been demonstrated in a superlattice with 1-nanometer-thick AllnAs barriers and 4.3-nanometer-thick GalnAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy. These results demonstrate the potential of strongly coupled superlattices as infrared laser materials for high-power sources in which the wavelength can be tailored by design.
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ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.276.5313.773