Mid-Infrared Semiconductor Lasers based on virtual substrates with designer specified lattice-constant

基于具有设计者指定晶格常数的虚拟衬底的中红外半导体激光器

• 批准号: 1806285
• 负责人: Luke Mawst
• 金额: $ 36万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2023-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1806285&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Mid; Infrared; Semiconductor; Lasers; based

Semiconductor lasers have found widespread application that greatly benefit society, including in the telecommunications field (for fiber-optic communications), data transmission for high-speed computing, and many medical therapies. However, new semiconductor lasers with extended capabilities, such as high optical power emission, lower input-power requirements, and the ability to operate in wavelength regions that are difficult to access with commonly used semiconductor materials are still under intense development by researchers. The technologies developed in this program will provide new commercial product opportunities by enabling semiconductor lasers to operate with high performance under continuous current operation, in the technologically important mid-infrared wavelength region, that is currently difficult to access. High-performance compact light sources (lasers) operating in the mid-infrared wavelength region are ideal for remote gas sensing, laser-based range finding, free-space optical communication, product marking of materials such as plastics, and medical/dental applications. A case in point, environmental monitoring (remote sensing) of methane represents a potentially large volume application for the proposed devices, since methane is a major source of radiative forcing with a global warming potential 25 times greater than CO2. For many of these applications, practical requirements in terms of cost, size, weight, performance and reliability preclude any other technology from being a viable solution.Technical description: In this program we will be developing 3.0-3.5 micron-emitting, high-power quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) on metamorphic buffer layer (MBL) substrates. The MBL technology permits the fabrication of lower-strain QCLs to provide a higher-power CW alternative to antimonide or type-II interband lasers, which are inherently performance limited by Auger recombination. Although QCLs have been demonstrated at 3.5 micron using conventional InP substrates, active-region carrier leakage and high material strain have compromised the performance and reliability of these short wavelength QCLs. Consequently, high-performance QCLs on InP substrates are typically above 4.5 micron in wavelength. Utilizing unconventional superlattice (SL) material compositions, possible only on MBL substrates, QCLs will be developed with sufficiently deep wells to minimize carrier leakage at these wavelengths and reduced material strain levels to provide performance and reliability advantages over conventional approaches at and below 3.5 micron wavelength. A further benefit of the MBL technology is the transition from InP to GaAs substrates, which will present significant advantages in terms of manufacturing cost and yield.Key fundamental issues are addressed in the development of strained-engineered SL materials for application to QCLs. The application of SL structure formation on virtual substrates is proposed which greatly expands the compositional space accessible for many device applications and addresses in a transformative way the shortcomings of current QCL technologies. There are no existing high-power single-mode (0.5W) semiconductor lasers in the 3-3.5 micron wavelength region. It is proposed to develop 3.0-3.5 micron-emitting laser sources with at least an order of magnitude increase in coherent CW output power compared to current state-of-the-art 3.0-3.5 micron semiconductor lasers. Such high-power devices will open up a plethora of new applications from remote sensing of chemicals (methane and other hydrocarbons) to product (plastics) marking. Two novel approaches are proposed to achieve the overall goal i) the implementation of novel step-tapered active-region (STA) quantum-cascade laser (QCL) designs for 3.0-3.5 micron-emitting QCLs, in order to completely suppress carrier leakage (including leakage to indirect valleys in the active region), as well as achieve efficient resonant carrier extraction from lower active region states; thus, obtaining both high T0 and T1 values and low threshold currents; ii) the use of a novel metamorphic-buffer-layer (MBL) approach to bypass the strain-relaxation constraint, thereby allowing growth of QCL structures of the same strain as 4.6-4.8 micron QCLs and thus of relatively low active region thermal resistance and potential for reliable operation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

半导体激光器已经发现了广泛的应用，极大地造福社会，包括在电信领域（用于光纤通信），用于高速计算的数据传输和许多医学治疗。然而，具有扩展能力的新型半导体激光器，如高光功率发射，较低的输入功率要求，以及在常用半导体材料难以进入的波长区域中工作的能力，仍在研究人员的大力开发中。该计划中开发的技术将提供新的商业产品机会，使半导体激光器能够在目前难以进入的技术重要的中红外波长区域中，在连续电流操作下以高性能运行。在中红外波长区域工作的高性能紧凑型光源（激光器）是远程气体传感、基于激光的测距、自由空间光通信、塑料等材料的产品标记以及医疗/牙科应用的理想选择。一个恰当的例子是，甲烷的环境监测（遥感）代表了拟议装置的潜在大规模应用，因为甲烷是辐射强迫的主要来源，其全球变暖潜力是二氧化碳的25倍。 对于这些应用中的许多应用，在成本，尺寸，重量，性能和可靠性方面的实际要求排除任何其他技术从一个可行的solution.Technical描述：在这个计划中，我们将开发3.0-3.5微米发射，高功率量子级联激光器（QCL）的变质缓冲层（MBL）衬底。MBL技术允许制造低应变QCL，以提供更高功率的CW替代锑化物或II型带间激光器，其固有的性能受到俄歇复合的限制。 虽然QCL已被证明在3.5微米使用传统的InP衬底，有源区载流子泄漏和高材料应变已经损害了这些短波长QCL的性能和可靠性。因此，InP衬底上的高性能QCL的波长通常在4.5微米以上。 利用非常规的超晶格（SL）材料成分（仅可能在MBL衬底上），QCL将被开发为具有足够深的威尔斯以最小化在这些波长下的载流子泄漏和降低的材料应变水平，从而在3.5微米波长及以下提供优于常规方法的性能和可靠性优势。MBL技术的另一个好处是从InP到GaAs衬底的过渡，这将在制造成本和yield.Key方面的显着优势解决应变工程SL材料应用于QCL的发展中的基本问题。提出了在虚拟衬底上形成SL结构的应用，这极大地扩展了许多器件应用可访问的组成空间，并以变革性的方式解决了当前QCL技术的缺点。在3-3.5微米波长范围内没有现有的高功率单模（0.5W）半导体激光器。建议开发3.0-3.5微米发射激光源，与当前最先进的3.0-3.5微米半导体激光器相比，相干CW输出功率至少增加一个数量级。这种高功率设备将开辟大量新的应用，从化学品（甲烷和其他碳氢化合物）的遥感到产品（塑料）标记。提出了两种新的方法来实现总体目标i）实现新型阶梯锥形有源区（STA）量子级联激光器（QCL）设计，用于3.0-3.5微米发射的QCL，以完全抑制载流子泄漏（包括到有源区中的间接谷的泄漏），以及实现从较低有源区状态的有效谐振载流子提取;因此，获得高T0和T1值以及低阈值电流; ii）使用新的变质缓冲层（MBL）方法来绕过应变松弛约束，从而允许生长与4.6- 4.8相同应变的QCL结构。4.8微米QCL，因此具有相对较低的活动区域热阻和可靠运行的潜力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

项目成果

Strained-layer quantum well materials grown by MOCVD for diode laser application

• DOI: 10.1016/j.pquantelec.2020.100303
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Progress in Quantum Electronics
• 影响因子: 11.7
• 作者: L. Mawst;Honghyuk Kim;Gary L. Smith;Wei‐Che Sun;N. Tansu

Analysis of interface roughness in strained InGaAs/AlInAs quantum cascade laser structures (λ ∼ 4.6 μm) by atom probe tomography

通过原子探针断层扫描分析应变 InGaAs/AlInAs 量子级联激光结构 (δ≤4.6μm) 的界面粗糙度

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2022.126531
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Journal of Crystal Growth
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Knipfer, B.;Xu, S.;Kirch, J.D.;Botez, D.;Mawst, L.J.
• 通讯作者: Mawst, L.J.

Layer-thickness dependence of the compositions in strained III–V superlattices by atom probe tomography

通过原子探针断层扫描研究应变 III–V 超晶格中成分的层厚依赖性

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2020.125550
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Journal of Crystal Growth
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Knipfer, B.;Rajeev, A.;Isheim, D.;Kirch, J.D.;Babcock, S.E.;Kuech, T.F.;Earles, T.;Botez, D.;Mawst, L.J.
• 通讯作者: Mawst, L.J.

Electrically injected 164µm emitting In 065 Ga 035 As 3-QW laser diodes grown on mismatched substrates by MOVPE

通过 MOVPE 在失配基板上生长的电注入 164 µm 发射 In 065 Ga 035 As 3-QW 激光二极管

• DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.033205
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Optics Express
• 影响因子: 3.8
• 作者: Kim, H.;Shi, B.;Lingley, Z.;Li, Q.;Rajeev, A.;Brodie, M.;Lau, K. M.;Kuech, T. F.;Sin, Y.;Mawst, L. J.
• 通讯作者: Mawst, L. J.

Strain-balanced InGaAs/AlInAs/InP quantum cascade laser grown on GaAs by MOVPE

通过 MOVPE 在 GaAs 上生长的应变平衡 InGaAs/AlInAs/InP 量子级联激光器

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2023.127310
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Journal of Crystal Growth
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Xu, Shining;Zhang, Shuqi;Gao, Huilong;Kirch, Jeremy;Botez, Dan;Mawst, Luke
• 通讯作者: Mawst, Luke