Widely Tunable Single-Mode Interband Cascade Lasers

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Non-Technical Description: Semiconductor infrared lasers with widely tunable emission wavelength are critically needed for a wide range of applications such as environmental and chemical-warfare monitoring, detection of pipe leaks and explosives, food safety, medical diagnostics, and industrial process control. This project combines novel optical structures and customized semiconductor materials to demonstrate and develop the much-needed semiconductor lasers. The objectives of the project also include advancement in the understanding and knowledge of how infrared light interacts with the new optical structures as the injecting current is adjusted to tune the wavelength. The project offers graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Oklahoma unique opportunities to pursue education, training and research in multidisciplinary topics (materials science, quantum engineering, photonics, and device fabrication). This project also enhances Oklahoma's infrastructure for science and technology development and increases the opportunities of students from under-represented groups. Technical Description: Many applications require widely tunable single-mode mid-infrared semiconductor lasers that can operate continuously with low power consumption at room temperature. By monolithically integrating a novel half-wave V-coupled cavity, the proposed interband cascade lasers will have a single-mode emission with a high side-mode suppression ratio (30 dB) without conventional distributed feedback gratings. This configuration also enables the lasers to have a wide tuning range ( 30 nm). Additionally, through innovation of the waveguide structure, these lasers will have enhanced optical confinement, improved thermal dissipation, and reduced strain accumulation. These widely tunable single-mode mid-infrared lasers will significantly benefit many useful applications, especially where mid-infrared systems must be operated with batteries and energy cost/availability is a concern, including space applications with strict constraints on size and electric power. The availability of these lasers will greatly enhance the capabilities of mid-infrared laser instruments and their applications in many areas. This project not only advances the understanding and knowledge of optical science, it also generates new knowledge in the design of quantum-engineered structures and broadens their applications.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.