Predictable tuning behavior and stable laser operation are both crucial for laser spectroscopy measurements. We report a sampled grating quantum cascade laser (QCL) with high spectral tuning stability over the entire tuning range. We have determined the minimum loss margin required to suppress undesired lasing modes in order to ensure predictable tuning behavior. We have quantified power fluctu...

A compact and transportable three channel quantum cascade laser system (TRIPLE Q) based on mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy has been developed for time-resolved plasma diagnostics. The TRIPLE Q spectrometer encompasses three independently controlled quantum cascade lasers (QCLs), which can be used for chemical sensing, particularly for gas phase analysis of plasmas. All three QCLs are opera...

Technological advances, namely the integration of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) within an infrared (IR) microscope, are enabling the development of valuable label-free biomedical-imaging tools capable of targeting and detecting salient chemical species within practical clinical timeframes.

Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are unipolar semiconductor lasers operating in the mid infrared region. Their emitted wavelength is defined by the separation of intersubband levels which can be tailored by band structure engineering. Due to the fact that the maximum conduction band offset in the GaAs/AlGaAs material system is 380 meV, the lowest directly accessible wavelength is roughly 7 μm. One...

A terahertz quantum cascade laser (THz QCL) architecture is presented in which only the ground state subbands of each quantum well are involved in the transport and lasing transition. Compared to state-of-the art THz QCLs based on the resonant-phonon scheme, ground state QCLs employ narrower wells so that all high-energy subbands are pushed up far above the occupied subband levels, significantl...

High-power and highly directional semiconductor microcylinder lasers based on an optical resonator with deformed cross section are reported. In the favorable directions of the far-field, a power increase of up to three orders of magnitude over the conventional circularly symmetric lasers was obtained. A "bow-tie"-shaped resonance is responsible for the improved performance of the lasers in the ...