Can laser light cool semiconductors?

Laser Cooling of Semiconductors

Optical irradiation accompanied by spontaneous anti-Stokes emission can lead to cooling of matter, a phenomenon known as laser cooling or optical refrigeration proposed in 1929 by Peter Pringsheim. In solid state materials, the cooling is achieved by annihilation of lattice vibrations (i.e., phonons). Since the first experimental demonstration in rare-earth doped glasses, considerable progress ...

Efficient luminescence extraction strategies and anti-reflective coatings to enhance optical refrigeration of semiconductors

Laser refrigeration of solids has emerged as a viable solution for vibration-free and compact cooling that does not require any moving parts or cryogenic liquid. So far, rare-earth doped glasses are the only bulk materials that have provided efficient laser cooling based on the anti-Stokes process. These materials have low indices of refraction and are suitable for efficient luminescence extrac...

A proposal for Coulomb assisted laser cooling of piezoelectric semiconductors

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Surface plasmon enhancement of photon extraction efficiency by silver nanoparticles: with applications in laser cooling of semiconductors

Laser cooling in semiconductors

The recent advances in the development and fabrication of semiconductor lasers have stimulated growing interest in semiconductors as candidates for optical cooling. The essential difference between semiconductors and rare-earth (RE) doped materials is in their cooling cycles. In the case of RE-doped glasses or crystals, the cooling transition occurs in localized donor ions within the host. In t...