quantum cascade laser

E648274

A quantum cascade laser is a semiconductor laser that emits in the mid- to far-infrared range using engineered quantum wells to produce photons through intersubband electronic transitions.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf optoelectronic device
semiconductor laser
unipolar laser
activeRegionStructure multiple quantum wells
superlattice heterostructure
advantage broad wavelength tunability via design
high output power in mid-infrared
narrow linewidth emission
application environmental monitoring
free-space optical communications
gas sensing
industrial process control
infrared countermeasures
infrared spectroscopy
medical diagnostics
terahertz imaging
canOperate continuous-wave
pulsed
carrierType electrons only
cavityType Fabry–Pérot NERFINISHED
distributed feedback
designPrinciple band-structure engineering
cascade of repeated gain stages
distinguishedFrom interband semiconductor laser
emissionMechanism intersubband electronic transitions
emissionPolarization transverse magnetic (TM)
emissionType far-infrared radiation
mid-infrared radiation
firstDemonstratedInYear 1994
gainMedium semiconductor quantum wells
inventedAt Bell Laboratories NERFINISHED
inventedBy Federico Capasso NERFINISHED
Jerome Faist NERFINISHED
keyFeature each injected electron can generate multiple photons
tailorable emission wavelength via epitaxial growth
wavelength determined by layer thicknesses rather than bandgap
operatingBand mid-infrared
terahertz
pumpingMethod electrical injection
requires cryogenic cooling for some terahertz designs
typicalFabricationMethod metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy
molecular beam epitaxy
typicalMaterials GaAs/AlGaAs
GaInAs/AlInAs on InP
typicalStructure buried heterostructure
ridge waveguide
uses intersubband transitions within conduction band
wavelengthRange approximately 3–300 micrometres

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Federico Capasso notableConcept quantum cascade laser
Federico Capasso notableWork quantum cascade laser