High Power, Room Temperature 2.4 - 4 micron Mid-IR Semiconductor Laser Optimization

ABSTRACT: The key objective of the proposal is to develop sophisticated, graphical user interface driven software tools built on fully microscopic physics to design, guide and provide feedback on growth, fabrication and evaluation of semiconductor structures that provide optical gain in the critical 2.4-4 micron wavelength window. Existing technologies are severely limited by low gain, high losses, poor beam quality, low wall-plug efficiencies and, often, the need to operate at cryogenic temperatures. Nonlinear Control Strategies Inc. will develop state-of-the-art and unique proprietary software design tools to optimize the semiconductor epitaxial structures for room temperature laser operation in either edge or surface emitting geometries. A key design task will be to combine bandstructure engineering with full many-body microscopic physics calculations to reduce Auger and intraband absorption losses that dramatically limit performance in this wavelength window. The mid-IR laser software design development has several potential applications to IRCM, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance): LADAR, 3-D imaging, active illumination imaging in the mid-wave IR requiring sources that operate as efficiently as possible. The anticipated outcome of the project in Phase 2 is a flexible software tool capable of rapid convergence to optimized solutions by running in parallel on multiple or multi-core processors and on specialized hardware accelerators BENEFIT: There currently exists a critical gap in the availability of semiconductor laser sources operating in the 2.4-4 micron mid-IR wavelength window. There is a dire need for high brightness laser sources that deliver Watts of power at room temperature on a small footprint. The mid-IR laser software design development has several potential applications to IRCM, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance): LADAR, 3-D imaging, active illumination imaging in the mid-wave IR requiring sources that operate as efficiently as possible.