Optimization of gain region in mid-IR ( ≈ 5 μm) QCL

Abstract

Non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism is used to optimize the gain region of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) tailored to emit radiation at ∼5 µm wavelength, originally designed by Evans et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett., 88, 051105(2006)10.1063/1.2171476]. The optimization strategy uses electron-photon selfenergies to find characteristics of devices under the "operating conditions," i.e., interacting with the laser field. These conditions can be quite different from the one when the device is in no-lasing state and the unsaturated gain is being optimized. The saturation caused by the optical field can push the structure from strong to weak coupling conditions, what changes laser parameters in a non-linear manner. Moreover, the NEGF method does not require any phenomenological parameters (such as, e.g., the phase relaxation times), so the quantities dependent on these parameters are determined solely on physical grounds. The use of the above procedure for the structure under investigation shows that the increase of the quantum efficiency by 24% and the output power by 83% in comparison to the original design can be achieved when the widths of injection and extraction barriers are changed to their optimal values.