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Infrared Degenerate Four-wave Mixing with Upconversion Detection for Quantitative Gas Sensing
Published on: March 22, 2019
Mid-infrared vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for chemical sensing
W W Bewley1, C L Felix, I Vurgaftman
1Hughes Research Laboratory, MS RL63, Malibu, California 90265, USA.
Applied Optics
|February 29, 2008
Summary
The first III-V mid-infrared vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers were developed for chemical detection. These lasers exhibit low thresholds and high efficiency, operating up to 280 K.
Area of Science:
- Semiconductor Physics
- Optoelectronics
- Infrared Technology
Background:
- Mid-infrared (mid-IR) lasers are crucial for various chemical sensing applications.
- Developing efficient and compact mid-IR laser sources remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the first III-V mid-IR vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) operating at a wavelength of 2.9 micrometers.
- To evaluate their potential for chemical detection.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of III-V semiconductor material.
- Optical pumping experiments to characterize laser performance.
- Temperature-dependent measurements of continuous-wave (cw) and pulsed operation.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated the first III-V mid-IR VCSELs at 2.9 micrometers.
- Achieved a low continuous-wave optical-pumping threshold of 4 mW at 80 K.
- Obtained high efficiency (5.6% W/W) and operation up to 160 K (cw) and 280 K (pulsed).
Conclusions:
- These mid-IR VCSELs show significant promise for chemical detection applications.
- Further development with lateral-mode confinement is expected to yield spectrally pure, single-mode output for precise chemical identification.
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