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Widely tunable mode-hop free external cavity quantum cascade lasers for high resolution spectroscopy and chemical sensing

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Abstract

Recent progress in the development of room temperature, continuous wave, widely tunable, mode-hop-free mid-infrared external cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) spectroscopic sources is reported. A single mode tuning range of 155 cm-1 (∼ 8% of the center wavelength) with a maximum power of 11.1 mW and 182 cm-1 (∼ 15% of the center wavelength) with a maximum power of 50 mW was obtained for 5.3 and 8.4 μm EC-QCLs respectively. This technology is particularly suitable for high resolution spectroscopic applications, multi species trace-gas detection and spectroscopic measurements of broadband absorbers. Several examples of spectroscopic measurements performed using EC-QCL based spectrometers are demonstrated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering Department, Princeton University, Engineering Quadrangle, Olden Street, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    G. Wysocki

  2. Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA

    R. Lewicki, R.F. Curl & F.K. Tittel

  3. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    L. Diehl, F. Capasso & M. Troccoli

  4. Agilent Laboratories, 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    G. Hofler, D. Bour & S. Corzine

  5. Institute of Physics, University of Neuchâtel, 1 A.-L. Breguet, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    R. Maulini, M. Giovannini & J. Faist

  6. ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli Str. 16, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland

    J. Faist

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  1. G. Wysocki
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  2. R. Lewicki
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  3. R.F. Curl
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  4. F.K. Tittel
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  5. L. Diehl
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  6. F. Capasso
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  7. M. Troccoli
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  8. G. Hofler
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  9. D. Bour
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  10. S. Corzine
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  11. R. Maulini
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  12. M. Giovannini
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  13. J. Faist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Wysocki.

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PACS

42.55.Px; 42.60.-v; 42.62.Fi; 07.07.Df

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Wysocki, G., Lewicki, R., Curl, R. et al. Widely tunable mode-hop free external cavity quantum cascade lasers for high resolution spectroscopy and chemical sensing. Appl. Phys. B 92, 305–311 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-008-3047-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-008-3047-x

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