Microring quantum cascade surface emitting lasers

Abstract

We miniaturize a vertically coupled in-plane whispering gallery mode cavity incorporating a quantum cascade gain medium, aiming to realize the mid-infrared counterpart to the vertical cavity surface emitting laser. Building on previous work with linear microcavities, we introduce a new type of quantum cascade surface emitting laser (QCSEL) by miniaturizing a buried heterostructure ring cavity. At wavelengths of 4.5 and 8 μm, we investigate the optical losses for decreasing ring diameters while benchmarking the device performance against linear microcavities. We achieve an equivalent mirror reflectivity of 0.95 and demonstrate lasing with ring diameters as small as 50 μm. Finally, we report a continuous-wave threshold power dissipation of 274 mW for a 100 μm diameter ring QCSEL, characterized on wafer level at 20 °C.