光栅耦合外谐振腔调谐的半导体量子级连激光器

本文研究了由InGaAs/InAlAs材料组成,波长为4.6和5.1微米的量子级连中红外半导体激光器的光栅外耦合谐振腔的特性。在温度是80K时波长可调制宽度是激光中心波长的1.5%左右。对于这两个激光器而言,它们的波长可调制宽度随温度升高而减低。被调制的单模激光器的输出光功率是几个毫瓦,激光的谱线宽度是1到2个微米。激光阈值电流随波长缓慢变化,然而激光输出效率在短波长时更加优化。     

基于量子级联激光器的红外光谱技术评述

量子级联激光器是一种新型的红外相干光源。利用量子理论与带隙工程,量子级联激光器可实现3 μm到100 μm波长范围内的任意输出波长。由于大多数气体分子的特征光谱都集中在中红外波段,而中红外量子级联激光器具有功率高、线宽窄、扫描速度快等独特的优点,因此,基于量子级联激光器的红外光谱技术已成为气体检测技术的研究热点。尤其是,近年来室温激光器性能得到不断的完善,输出功率和电光转换效率得到了极大的提高,这在很大程度上推动了红外激光光谱技术的迅速发展。本文根据工作原理,分别介绍了基于直接吸收谱检测、相位调制光谱检测、光声调制光谱检测和法拉第旋光效应光谱检测的量子级联激光器红外光谱检测技术,并对其实现方法和应用情况进行了介绍。     

Interface Phonon Modes in Quantum Cascade Lasers

We investigate the interface phonon assisted transition in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade lasers （QCLs） by using the transfer matrix method based on the dieIectric continuum model. EIectron eigenvalues and eigenstates are calculated by solving Schroedinger equation and the Poisson equation self-consistently. The AlAs-like and upper GaAs-like interface phonon modes contribute most of the scattering rate. Interface phonon modes couple strongly with electrons at E2, and the magnitude of scattering rate between E2 and E1 is much larger than that between E3 and El, which is helpful for the laser inversion between E3 and E2. The calculation can be easily applied to the design and simulation of QCLs.     

High-Power and Low-Threshold-Current-Density GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Cascade Lasers

We report on the realization of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade lasers with an emission wavelength of 9.1 μm above the liquid nitrogen temperature. With optimal current injection window and ridge width of 24 and 60μm respectively, a peak output power more than 500mW is achieved in pulsed mode operation. A low threshold current density Jth = 2.6 kA/cm^2 gives the devices good lasing characteristics. In a drive frequency of i kHz, the laser operates up to 20% duty cycle.     

Unidirectionally Emitting Quantum Cascade Microcavity Lasers with Patterned Contacts

We investigate unidirectionally emitting quantum cascade microcavity lasers with semicircle-patterned top contacts. We employ novel patterned top contacts while fabricating notched ellipse-shaped cavity lasers. We study experimentally the microcavity-structure-based quantum cascade (QC) laser material with a long infrared wavelength of ~10 μm. Then we characterize microcavity lasers with patterned contacts and compare them with nonpatterned ones and observe a lower operating injection threshold current as a consequence of this relatively straightforward technique, with the unidirectional emission feature being kept. We obtain a maximum light output peak power of 16 mW with unidirectional emission at a far-field divergence angle of ~7° at a full width of half maximum, while the patterned device shows low threshold even in the microcavity laser with a size of 150 μm. Furthermore, we also carry out a reliability test of the QC microcavity lasers with semicircle-patterned top contacts, and the testing results show no sudden failure or severe light-output-power drop during an operating time of thousand hours.     

面向脉冲量子级联激光器气体检测的锁相放大器

为了在基于脉冲式中红外量子级联激光器的气体检测系统中,精确提取窄脉冲传感信号的幅度,设计并实现了一种微秒级窄脉冲锁相放大器.根据微秒级窄脉冲的特点,窄脉冲信号经过窄带通滤波电路,得到基频正弦波信号,再经过主放大、移相、相敏检波电路,得到与脉冲幅值有关的直流信号.利用信号发生器产生的幅度、频率、相位可调的窄脉冲待测信号,对锁相放大器进行功能验证实验.结果表明,锁相放大器输出直流信号与输入信号的幅度呈良好的线性关系,线性拟合度约为98.043%;信号幅值的相对测量误差不超过3%;在1 h的测试时间内,信号波动范围在1‰以内.利用配备的不同浓度的一氧化碳样品及研制的锁相放大器,开展了一氧化碳气体检测实验.在0~180 ppm范围内,随着一氧化碳浓度的增加,锁相放大器的输出电压值与一氧化碳浓度呈现良好的e指数关系.根据A11an方差预测的系统检测下限为0.4123ppm.与商用锁相放大器相比,该放大器具有体积小、成本低、易于集成等特点,在基于脉冲式中红外量子级联激光器的气体检测中具有较好的应用前景.     

Quantum Cascade Lasers: the quantum technology for semiconductor lasers in the mid-far-infrared

The quantum cascade laser is a new light source based on resonant tunnelling and optical transitions between quantised conduction band states. In these semiconductor devices the principles of operation arise from the quantum engineering of electronic energy levels and tailoring of their wavefunctions. In recent years the performance of these devices has improved markedly and this semiconductor technology is now an attractive choice for the fabrication of mid-far infrared lasers in a very wide spectral range (3–80 μm). At present, quantum cascade lasers are capable of continuous-wave room temperature operation and can deliver 200–300 mW of average power (at λ∼9 μm) operating on a Peltier cooler. To cite this article: C. Sirtori, J. Nagle, C. R. Physique 4 (2003).     

Low Threshold Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Lasers with Widely Spaced Emission Wavelengths

We report lasing properties of distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers （DFB QCLs） including a doublephonon-resonance active region, at wavelength of about 8.4 μm. A broad gain spectrum is generated due to the coupling between the lower laser level in the active region and the levels in the injector, and is demonstrated by the lasing spectrum of the corresponding Fabry-Perot QCLs whose width is 0.5 μm at 1.5 times of the threshold current. As a result, the DFB QCLs employing different grating periods exhibit a wavelength span of 0.18μm at room temperature and total wavelength coverage of 0.28μm at various heat sink temperatures. A high side mode suppression ratio of about 30dB and a low threshold current density of 1.78kA/cm^2 are achieved as the lasers operate at room temperature in pulsed mode.     

Thermal Analysis of InAs/AlSb Short Wavelength Mid-IR Quantum Cascade Lasers

We present the effects of hetero-interfaces and major key parameters on the thermal behaviors and performance of short wavelength mid-IR InAs/AlSb quantum cascade lasers （QCLs）. We use a finite element method （FEM） with commercial software, ANSYS, to simulate the heat dissipation in QCLs in cw operation mode with an epilayer-down mounting package. The thermal performance is characterized by the temperature increase AT （self-heating effect） between the active region of QCLs and the heatsink. Results show that （1） the self-heating effects of InAs/AlSb QCLs are much less than those in AlInAs/GaInAs Q, CLs, （2） narrower ridges lead to significantly cooler active regions of InAs/AlSb QCLs due to poor heat transport in the cross-plane direction （across interfaces） and that most of the heat flows out of the active region in the lateral direction, and （3） the cavity length of the laser has little influence on the self-beating effect of the device, but the long cavity reduces mirror loss and threshold current density.     

The Self-Heating Effect of Quantum Cascade Lasers Based on a Spectroscopic Method

We investigate the self-heating effect of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers by using a direct-based pulse injecting current and spectroscopy method. Based on the characterization system, the thermal characteristics of gas source MBE grown 8.4μm InP-based GalnAs/AIInAs DFB-QCLs are evaluated. The method and characterization system are also useful in evaluating the thermal characteristics of other types of mid-infrared diode lasers.     

Spectral Dynamics of Quantum Cascade Lasers Generating Frequency Combs in the Long-Wavelength Infrared Range

Technical Physics - We have studied the spectral and dynamic characteristics of quantum cascade lasers emitting in the long-wavelength infrared range. It is shown that lasers with a short cavity...     

影响AlGaN/GaN量子级联激光器性能的因素研究

在已有理论基础之上,采用严格的计算方法对激光器实现太赫兹(THz)波的辐射进行了可能性分析。利用传递矩阵法,通过Matlab软件计算了基于AlGaN/GaN材料体系的三能级量子级联激光器导带子能级与电子波函数的分布,详细分析了由该材料特有的极化效应所产生的极化场,得出了在近共振条件下偶极跃迁元、外加电场、垒层Al组分及导带子能级能级差之间的关系,并研究了它们对激光器性能的影响。分析结果表明,实现受激辐射的条件非常严格,Al组分取0.15或0.16时较为适宜,同时外加电场需大于63kV/cm,但不能过大,这样才能满足近共振条件,实现粒子数反转达到太赫兹量子级联激射。在Al组分为0.15,外加电场为69.0kV/cm时激光器的偶极跃迁元最大,表明跃迁几率也最大,对激光器的性能有利,可以为量子级联激光器构造较好的有源区。     

半导体带间级联激光器研究进展

半导体带间级联量子阱是实现3~5μm波段中红外激光器的重要前沿,其在半导体光电器件技术、气体检测、医学医疗以及自由空间光通信等诸多领域具有重要科学意义和应用价值。半导体带间级联量子阱发光机理是以二类量子阱中的电子与空穴的带间辐射复合发光为主导,再通过电子注入区与空穴注入区形成级联放大,实现多个量子阱周期内电子与空穴的重复利用。本文综述了半导体带间级联激光器从提出能带结构、外延材料到器件制备技术的发展历程,剖析了器件结构各功能区基本概念和工作原理,介绍了器件结构设计与制备工艺技术难点的里程碑突破,详细解释了载流子再平衡、分别限制层等设计,最后展望了半导体带间级联激光器的发展方向和趋势。     

Pulse Wavelength Scan of Room-Temperature Mid-Infrared Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Lasers for N2O Gas Detection

The tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy under a pulse wavelength scan scheme is adapted to home-made room-temperature mid-infrared distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers; and identification of N2O spectral fingerprint is demonstrated experimentally. By driving the laser at 800ns pulse duration, a wave number tuning of about 1.6cm^-1 is produced, which make both 1289.04cm^-1 and 1289.86cm^-1 absorption fingerprints of N2O gas to be definitely assigned. The measured relative absorption intensity is consistent with the HITRAN data precisely.     

Quantum computation: Algorithms and Applications

As the prospect of commercial quantum computers turns ever more real in recent times, research in quantum algorithms becomes the center of attention. Due to the strong parallelism of quantum computing in Hilbert space, ordinarily intractable calculation problems could now be solved very efficiently with non-classical means. To exploit parallelism, creative quantum algorithms are required so that efficient quantum oracles can be tailor-designed to specific computation needs. Therefore, in the quest for quantum supremacy, quantum algorithms and their related applications are as important as the quantum computer hardware. This article covers the basic concepts of quantum computation and reviews some important quantum algorithms and their applications.     

Carrier Dynamics in Quantum Well Lasers

A fully microscopic theory is used to perform an analysis of carrier–carrier and carrier-LO phonon scattering in semiconductor quantum wells, focussing on the high-density case relevant for laser structures. A large variance of scattering times is observed depending on the material parameters, apparently contradicting popular belief in some cases. For instance, carrier–carrier scattering may slow down when the carrier density is increased. Electron-hole scattering times are found to be on the same order of magnitude as carrier-phonon scattering, making the introduction of a separate electron and hole temperature necessary. Heating by optical pumping is investigated and plasma cooling is shown to be possible by optical pumping of the laser structure.     

Seeded Free-Electron Lasers and Free-Electron Laser Applications

Several decades after the groundbreaking discovery of X-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, it became quite evident that the possibility of building X-ray sources with controlled photon beam parameters was a revolutionary step to address some of the important challenges facing humanity. The awareness that these sources could dramatically improve mankind's scientific knowledge and technological ability was at the base of significant investments and scientific programs worldwide that brought X-ray sources into the present “golden age.”     

Randomizing Quantum States: Constructions and Applications

The construction of a perfectly secure private quantum channel in dimension d is known to require 2logd shared random key bits between the sender and receiver. We show that if only near-perfect security is required, the size of the key can be reduced by a factor of two. More specifically, we show that there exists a set of roughly dlogd unitary operators whose average effect on every input pure state is almost perfectly randomizing, as compared to the d² operators required to randomize perfectly. Aside from the private quantum channel, variations of this construction can be applied to many other tasks in quantum information processing. We show, for instance, that it can be used to construct LOCC data hiding schemes for bits and qubits that are much more efficient than any others known, allowing roughly logd qubits to be hidden in 2logd qubits. The method can also be used to exhibit the existence of quantum states with locked classical correlations, an arbitrarily large amplification of the correlation being accomplished by sending a negligibly small classical key. Our construction also provides the basic building block for a method of remotely preparing arbitrary d-dimensional pure quantum states using approximately logd bits of communication and logd ebits of entanglement.