Ion Doped Quantum Well Lasers

Diode lasers are great, but not temperature stable. Keeping the frequency constant, essential for communications, requires exotic (read expensive) heavy cooling systems. Investigators at Spire think they have a better way: build a laser diode whose frequency is naturally stable, as in ionic lasers such as neodymium doped YAG. Spire reasons that adding erbium to the quantum well of conventional AlGaAs lasers will stabilize the output at 1548nm, up from the common 800 to 900nm range and well matched to fibers. Spire knows how to make quantum well lasers and offers them as a finished product. Addition of erbium doping is another matter. It requires discovering a source gas compatible with existing metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and learning how to use it. That's what this research program proposes to do.