Intracavity second harmonic generation in quantum cascade lasers in the telecommunication range

We propose and theoretically study the performance of short-wavelength mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers integrated with resonant second-harmonic generation (SHG) cascade. We show the feasibility of SHG in the near infrared range 1.5-2 μm with nonlinear susceptibility of ~150 pm/V. Theoretical treatment takes into account the non-sphericity and the non-parabolicity of the conduction band within a modified energy-dependent effective mass approximation based on the 14 band kP model. This approximation is shown to coincide with the first conduction band calculated by the 30 band kP model up to 2.3 eV above the band edge. We demonstrate the possibility of modal phase matching in the InGaAs/AlAsSb/InP QC laser which yields the intracavity frequency conversion efficiency of the order of 0.2 mW/W2.

[1]  Federico Capasso,et al.  Nonlinear optics with quantum cascade lasers , 2007 .

[2]  Luke R. Wilson,et al.  InGaAs∕AlAsSb∕InP quantum cascade lasers operating at wavelengths close to 3μm , 2007 .

[3]  Federico Capasso,et al.  Optimized second-harmonic generation in quantum cascade lasers , 2003 .

[4]  Frédéric Aniel,et al.  Energy-band structure of Ge, Si, and GaAs: A thirty-band k ∙ p method , 2004 .

[5]  Roland Teissier,et al.  InAs∕AlSb quantum cascade lasers emitting at 2.75–2.97μm , 2007 .

[6]  Jerry R. Meyer,et al.  Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys , 2001 .

[7]  F. Capasso,et al.  Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser Source Based on Intra-Cavity Difference-Frequency Generation , 2007, 2007 European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and the International Quantum Electronics Conference.

[8]  P. Pfeffer,et al.  Conduction electrons in GaAs: Five-level k⋅p theory and polaron effects , 1990 .

[9]  Clifton G. Fonstad,et al.  Multiband coupling effects on electron quantum well intersubband transitions , 1995 .

[10]  K. Boujdaria,et al.  The eight-level k ⋅ p model for the conduction and valence bands of InAs, InP, InSb , 2007 .

[11]  Federico Capasso,et al.  Resonant second-order nonlinear optical processes in quantum cascade lasers. , 2003, Physical review letters.

[12]  Ekenberg.  Nonparabolicity effects in a quantum well: Sublevel shift, parallel mass, and Landau levels. , 1989, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[13]  Vl. V. Kocharovsky,et al.  Infrared generation in low-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures via quantum coherence , 2001 .