Brightness scaling of quantum cascade lasers based on vertically-stacked leaky-wave-coupled array of active regions

TransWave Photonics, LLC in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin proposes to demonstrate a new active region configuration for the mid-wave infrared quantum cascade lasers that provide a possibility of scaling the brightness of the device emission by at least a factor of 5 over the current state-of-the art. The proposed laser design concept is based on coherently coupling of the light output from several laser active region cores which are grown on top of each other and are separated by microns-thick layers of semiconductor material that serve as viaducts heat extraction in continuous-wave operation. The approach allows for scaling not only brightness but also power output of room-temperature continuous-wave mid-wave infrared quantum cascade lasers beyond the current state-of-the-art. In Phase 1 work, the proposing team will perform theoretical investigations and preliminary experimental demonstrations of the key innovations to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed approach.