CAREER: Semiconductor Lasers Without Population Inversion

拟议研究的主要目标是展示第一个在没有粒子数反转的情况下运行的激光设备，从而解决正在进行的关于反转必要性的讨论。这里所考虑的系统是基于半导体异质结的子带间跃迁。如果成功的话，该设备将在电磁光谱的中红外区域的相干光学设备的研究中取得突破。由于难以反转的子带人口，在这一地区的激光设备-在大气传感和污染监测的重要应用-迄今为止一直难以捉摸。因此，我们提出要展示的无反转激光放大器和振荡器类将为如何制造与半导体技术兼容的红外激光器提供新的视角。因此，拟议研究的意义是双重的：1）第一次实验证明了一个新的原理，改变了我们对激光的看法; 2）实现波长在2微米到100微米范围内的激光和非线性红外光源的新方法。

The primary goal of the proposed research is to demonstrate the first laser device that operates without population inversion, thereby resolving the ongoing discussion regarding the necessity of inversion. The system considered here is based on intersubband transitions in semiconductor heterostructures. If successful, the proposed device will present a breakthrough in the search for coherent optical devices in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Due to the difficulty of inverting the subband populations, laser devices in this region- with important applications in atmospheric sensing and pollution monitoring- have so far been elusive. Therefore, the class of inversionless laser amplifiers and oscillators that we propose to demonstrate will provide a new perspective on how to make infrared lasers that are compatible with the semiconductor technology. The implications of the proposed research is therefore twofold: 1) The first experimental demonstration of a new principle that alters the way we think about lasers; and 2) A novel approach to the realization of lasers and nonlinear infrared sources with wavelengths in the 2 micrometers to 100 micrometers region.