Soliton Dynamics in Mid-Infrared Quantum-Cascade Lasers

本程序的目的是研究中红外量子级联激光器中的孤子动力学。孤子效应源于群速度色散和自相位调制之间的抵消。这种效应可能在中红外量子级联激光器产生超短脉冲方面发挥关键作用，这对生物医学传感和环境控制等重大应用具有重要意义。由于群速度色散和自相位调制同时存在于同一结构中，并且两者都与量子级联激光器中的子带间跃迁有关，因此，对其基本物理机制的阐明可能使一类新的紧凑型中红外超快激光器成为可能。这种装置对中红外和远红外连续波以及短脉冲光源都有很大的兴趣。这项研究的变革性在于，研究结果可以应用于设计一种新型的量子级联激光介质，通过带隙工程获得更短的中红外脉冲。这项设计将通过与实验小组的合作进行。更广泛的影响是在研究环境中提供纳米光子学领域的出色的多学科培训。两名S硕士研究生将参与这项研究。该计划还将通过研讨会为当地的K-12教师和高中生提供培训机会。这项拟议研究的结果将发表在科学和工程文献上，并在会议上公布。

The objective of this program is to investigate the soliton dynamics in mid-infrared quantum-cascade lasers. The soliton effect originates in the cancellation between the group velocity dispersion and self-phase modulation. Such effect may play a key role in the generation of ultra-short pulses by mid-infrared quantum-cascade lasers, which are important to major applications such as biomedical sensing and environmental control. The elucidation of the underlying physics may therefore enable a new class of compact ultrafast lasers in the mid-infrared region since group velocity dispersion and self-phase modulation are simultaneously present in the same structure and are both associated with the intersubband transitions in quantum-cascade lasers.The intellectual merit is that the proposed research will make significant contributions to the understanding of ultrafast dynamics in quantum cascade lasers. Such devices are of intense interest for mid-infrared and far-infrared continuous-wave as well as for short-pulsed sources. The transformative of this research is that results from the investigation could be applied to design a new type of quantum cascade laser medium yielding shortened mid-infrared pulses through bandgap engineering. The design will be pursued through the collaboration with an experimental group.The broader impacts are in providing excellent multidisciplinary training in the area of nanophotonics within a research environment. Two Master?s students are expected to participate in this research. This program will also provide training opportunities for local K-12 teachers and high-school students through workshops. The results from the proposed research will be published in the scientific and engineering literature and presented at conferences.