PFI:AIR - TT: Advancement of Interband Cascade Lasers

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This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating mid-infrared (IR) interband cascade (IC) laser technology to fill the need for instruments that identify and measure the concentration of specific molecules in a gas. Application areas for such instruments include chemical detection, greenhouse gas/pollution and pipeline monitoring, homeland security, industrial process control, and medical diagnostics. IC lasers are compact semiconductor light sources that are enabling components for sensor systems that correlate the absorption of mid-IR light with the presence of particular molecular species. This project will result in the demonstration and development of efficient IC laser sources that cover a wide range of mid-IR wavelengths. These IC lasers have the advantage of low power consumption when compared to other mid-IR lasers in this market space. The availability of efficient mid-IR IC lasers will dramatically enhance chemical sensing capabilities and help to deploy the sensor network globally. This project addresses the technology gap related to mid-IR semiconductor IC lasers as the technology translates from research discovery toward commercial application. Efficient IC lasers have been developed primarily based on GaSb substrates in the wavelength region from 3 to 4 microns. This project will develop efficient IC lasers based on InAs substrates in the wavelength region of 4 to 10 microns that conventional interband lasers have not been able to reach. These InAs-based IC lasers will be able to operate continuously with low power consumption at room temperature. The project will match the laser wavelengths to fundamental absorption lines of target molecules in the region of 4 to 6 microns. Through further innovation of the device structure, the power consumption will be further reduced for operation in the continuous wave (cw) mode at room temperature. In parallel, the cw operating temperature will be increased for lasers operating at 6 to 10 microns. To reach these long wavelengths, InAs-based plasmon waveguides are required to significantly enhance optical confinement, improve thermal dissipation, and reduce strain. With a carefully designed strain-balanced structure and good control of growth parameters, high-quality epitaxial structures will be achieved for InAs-based IC lasers.This project engages AdTech Optics, one of the leading commercial companies in mid-IR laser manufacturing with expertise in quantum cascade lasers, to further advance InAs-based interband cascade lasers into the commercial marketplace. The involvement of AdTech Optics will be particularly useful for addressing issues of reliability, thermal management, packaging, and yield. Personnel involved in this project, including one postdoc, two graduate students, and at least three undergraduate students, will gain innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship experiences through the entrepreneurship program in the university's business college, interactions with AdTech Optics, and participation in the research and market survey activities.