Gain-guided broad area quantum cascade lasers emitting 23.5 W peak power at room temperature

We report gain-guided broad area quantum cascade lasers at 4.55 μm. The devices were processed in a buried heterostructure configuration with a current injector section much narrower than the active region. They demonstrate 23.5 W peak power at a temperature of 20°C and duty cycle of 1%, while their far field consists of a single symmetric lobe centered on the optical axis. These experimental results are supported well by 2D numerical simulations of electric currents and optical fields in a device cross-section.