Mid- and far-infrared semiconductor devices exploiting surface-plasmon waveguides

Quantum cascade lasers are versatile semiconductor laser sources which are able to cover the mid-infrared (lambdaap5-20 mum) and THz (lambdaap60 200 mum) ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. At these very long wavelengths, surface-plasmons (SP) can be used for waveguiding. In this talk, we will show how the metallic waveguides offer the opportunity of implementing new functionalities (single mode, well-behaved surfaceemission. ..) for semiconductor lasers within a simple technological approach.