CURRENTSTATUSOFHIGHPERFORMANCEQUANTUM CASCADE LASERSATTHECENTERFORQUANTUM DEVICES

Mid-infrared lasersources arehighlydesired forlaser-based tracechemical sensors, military countermeasures, free-space communications, aswellasdeveloping medical applications. Whileapplication development hasbeenlimited bytheavailability ofadequate mid-infrared sources, InP-based Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) holdpromise asinexpensive, miniature, portable solutions capable ofproducing high powers andoperating athightemperatures withexcellent beamquality andsuperior reliability. Thispaper discusses themostrecent developments ofapplication-ready high power(>100mW),continuous-wave (cw), mid-infrared QCLsoperating above roomtemperature withlifetimes exceeding 13,000 hours.