Lead salt quantum well diode lasers

Abstract

Lead-salt diode lasers are useful for spectroscopic applications in the 2.5–30 μm wavelength range. These devices have previously required cryogenic cooling <100 K) for CW operation. The use of quantum well, large optical cavity structures has improved the operating temperatures to 174 K CW (at 4.39 μm) and to 270 K pulsed (at 3.88 μm). These diodes have a single PbTe quantum well with lattice-matched Pb 1−xEu xSe yTe 1−y confinement layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The emission energy shifts have been calculated using a finite square well with nonparabolicity effects included. Initial work has also been done on multiple quantum well lasers. The maximum operating temperatures were comparable to those of single quantum well lasers, with leakage current and possibly Auger recombination limiting device performance.