Fast Swept-Wavelength, Low Threshold-Current, Continuous-Wave External Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser

Xuefeng Jia; Lijun Wang; Zhiwei Jia; Ning Zhuo; Jinchuan Zhang; Shenqiang Zhai; Junqi Liu; Shuman Liu; Fengqi Liu; Zhanguo Wang

doi:10.1186/s11671-018-2765-1

Fast Swept-Wavelength, Low Threshold-Current, Continuous-Wave External Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser

Nanoscale Res Lett. 2018 Oct 26;13(1):341. doi: 10.1186/s11671-018-2765-1.

Authors

Xuefeng Jia^{1

2}, Lijun Wang^{3

4}, Zhiwei Jia^{1

2}, Ning Zhuo¹, Jinchuan Zhang¹, Shenqiang Zhai¹, Junqi Liu^{1

2}, Shuman Liu^{1

2}, Fengqi Liu^{5

6}, Zhanguo Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China.
² Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China. ljwang@semi.ac.cn.
⁴ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. ljwang@semi.ac.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China. fqliu@semi.ac.cn.
⁶ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. fqliu@semi.ac.cn.

Abstract

We present a low threshold-current and fast wavelength-tuning external cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) using a scanning galvanometer in the Littman-Metcalf cavity geometry. The EC-QCL could repeatedly swept at 100 Hz over its full tuning range of about 290 nm (2105 cm^-1 to 2240 cm^-1), providing a scan rate of 59.3 μm s^-1. The continuous-wave (CW) threshold current of the EC-QCL was as low as 250 mA and the maximum output power was 20.8 mW at 400 mA for a 3-mm-long QCL gain chip. With a sawtooth wave modulation, a scan resolution of < 0.2 cm^-1 can be achieved within the tuning range. The low power-consumption and fast swept-wavelength EC-QCL will be beneficial to many applications.

Keywords: External cavity; Fast swept-wavelength; Quantum cascade laser.

Abstract

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