InP-Based Midinfrared Quantum Cascade Lasers for Wavelengths Below 4 μm

We review the recent development of high-performance short-wavelength (λ ~ 3.05-3.8 μm) strain-compensated InGaAs/AlAs(Sb)/InP quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). The lasers are demonstrated in which wavelengths as low as 3.05 μm are obtained at temperatures up to 295 K. We also verify that strain-compensated In_0.7Ga_0.3As/AlAs(Sb) QCLs with AlAs barriers in the active region operate with much better performance compared with the lasers having identical design but with AlAsSb barriers throughout the whole core region. λ ~ 3.3-3.7 μm laser emission is observed at temperatures up to at least 400 K and up to 20 W of output optical power at 285 K for the QCLs with various core region designs. Room temperature distributed feedback InGaAs/AlAs(Sb) QCLs with buried third-order gratings have been also developed, displaying single-mode operation in the wavelength range of 3.358-3.380 μm for temperatures between 270 and 360 K.