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Low-threshold, high SMSR tunable external cavity quantum cascade laser around \(4.7\,\upmu \hbox {m}\)

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Abstract

Room-temperature pulsed and continuous-wave (cw) operation of a tunable external cavity (EC) quantum cascade laser (QCL) at an emitting wavelength of \(4.7\,\upmu \hbox {m}\) was presented. The effect of different external cavity lengths and grating angles of the EC–QCL system were analyzed numerically. A wide tuning range greater than \(131\,\hbox {cm}^{-1}\) was obtained in pulsed mode at room temperature. Without the anti-reflection coating procedure, single-mode cw operation with a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) above 20 dB and a wide tuning range greater than \(116\, \hbox {cm}^{-1}\) were achieved. Near the center region, SMSR about 30 dB was also realized through designing the external cavity length. Strain-compensation combined with two-phonon resonance in an active region design and the high-reflection coating promised low threshold current density. A record low threshold current density of \(0.901\,\hbox {kA/cm}^{2}\) for an EC–QCL operated in cw mode was realized.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2013CB632803 and 2013CB632801), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61274094), National Scientific Instrument Developing Project of China (2011YQ13001802-04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    S. Tan, J. C. Zhang, N. Zhuo, L. J. Wang, F. Q. Liu, D. Y. Yao, J. Q. Liu & Z. G. Wang

  2. Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, China

    S. Tan

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  1. S. Tan
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  2. J. C. Zhang
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  3. N. Zhuo
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  4. L. J. Wang
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  5. F. Q. Liu
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  6. D. Y. Yao
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  7. J. Q. Liu
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  8. Z. G. Wang
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Correspondence to L. J. Wang or F. Q. Liu.

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Tan, S., Zhang, J.C., Zhuo, N. et al. Low-threshold, high SMSR tunable external cavity quantum cascade laser around \(4.7\,\upmu \hbox {m}\) . Opt Quant Electron 45, 1147–1155 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-013-9731-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-013-9731-z

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