High-temperature interband cascade lasers

US8493654B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force · US

Inventors

• Igor Vurgaftman · Pikesville, US
• Jerry R. Meyer · Catonsville, US
• Chadwick Lawrence Canedy · Washington, US
• William W. Bewley · Falls Church, US
• James R. Lindle · Bowie, US
• Chul Soo Kim · Springfield, US
• Mijin Kim · Suwon-si, KR

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 19, 2012
• Grant date: Jul 23, 2013
• Expiry date: Jan 19, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S5/34306
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An interband cascade gain medium is provided. The gain medium can include at least one thick separate confinement layer comprising Ga(InAlAs)Sb between the active gain region and the cladding and can further include an electron injector region having a reduced thickness, a hole injector region comprising two hole quantum wells having a total thickness greater than about 100 Å, an active gain quantum well region separated from the adjacent hole injector region by an electron barrier having a thickness sufficient to lower a square of a wavefunction overlap between a zone-center active electron quantum well and injector hole states, and a thick AlSb barrier separating the electron and hole injectors of at least one stage of the active region.