Home > Press > New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources
Abstract:
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have achieved a nanoscale laser structure they anticipate will produce semiconductor lasers in the next two years that are more than twice as efficient as current continuous-wave lasers emitting in the mid-infrared.
New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources
Madison, WI | Posted on December 14th, 2009
"The novel structure will produce lasers with more power and that are more efficient, reliable and stable," says Dan Botez, Electrical and Computer Engineering Philip Dunham Reed Professor. He created the new structure with electrical and computer engineering professor Luke Mawst.
These next-generation lasers could benefit a wide range of industries, as they could be used in biomedical devices, environmental monitoring devices, missile avoidance systems and even food packaging processes. This wide range of applications is possible because the researchers have all but eliminated the temperature sensitivity for lasers operating in continuous-wave mode, meaning the laser emits uninterrupted, coherent light.
"For example, current mid-infrared laser technologies for detecting explosives can detect from only approximately 30 feet away," Botez says. "With these lasers, devices could detect explosives at more like 300 feet away."
Also important is that the researchers created the new laser structure via a scalable industrial process. Called metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), the process involves exposing a substrate to high heat and chemicals, causing the formation of layers on the substrate in an atomic-lattice configuration. Unlike previous crystal growth techniques, MOCVD allows manufacturers in addition to laboratory scientists to fabricate laser structures with varying compositions.
Varying the layers' composition is important in building a structure that prevents electrons from escaping the laser structure, a process called carrier leakage. "By suppressing carrier leakage, there is about 2.5 times less heating in the device while the laser is in continuous-wave operation," says Botez. "This is a dramatic improvement that means the device will be almost temperature insensitive."
The result will be continuous-wave lasers that Botez anticipates will achieve at least 20 percent wall-plug efficiency, which is the electrical-to-optical power efficiency of a laser system. Twenty percent efficiency would be roughly double the current world record for practical continuous-wave quantum cascade lasers.
Botez and Mawst are actively interested in commercializing the technology, which is covered by two issued and one pending U.S. patents.
For a more detailed story about the structure Botez and Mawst have created, visit www.engr.wisc.edu/news/headlines/2009/Dec07.html.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Sandra Knisely
608-265-8592
Copyright © University of Wisconsin-Madison
If you have a comment, please
Contact us.
Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
News and information
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Possible Futures
Lifeboat publishes its first book: The Lifeboat Foundation has published its first book, "The Human Race to the Future: What Could Happen -- and What to Do" May 14th, 2013
UC Santa Barbara History Professor's Book Elucidates, Celebrates ‘Visioneers' May 14th, 2013
Conceptual Nanomedical Lipofuscin Removal Strategy April 29th, 2013
The Global Desalination Market 2013-2023 April 24th, 2013
Announcements
Aspen Aerogels Announces $22.5 Million Private Placement May 18th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Military
Using clay to grow bone: Researchers use synthetic silicate to stimulate stem cells into bone cells May 15th, 2013
Flawed Diamonds Promise Sensory Perfection: Berkeley Lab researchers and their colleagues extend electron spin in diamond for incredibly tiny magnetic detectors May 10th, 2013
Researcher Construct Invisibility Cloak for Thermal Flow: Copper-Silicon Plate Deflects Heat / Optical Process Transferred to Thermodynamics / Basis for Future Heat Management in Microchips and Components May 8th, 2013
Improved material for ‘laser welding’ of tissue in intestinal surgery May 8th, 2013
Food/Agriculture/Supplements
Plants ‘talk’ to plants to help them grow May 8th, 2013
Thailand promote agricultural and medical sector at BIO 2013 May 6th, 2013
Microchip proves tightness provokes precocious sperm release April 29th, 2013
Greener methods for making popular nanoparticle April 24th, 2013
Environment
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Nanoadsorbent Synthesized to Remove Toxic Dyes from Textile Industry Wastewater May 16th, 2013
New Stanford Nanoscavengers Could Usher In Next Generation Water Purification May 15th, 2013
INSCX™ exchange to present a nanotechnology-based Emission Reduction Programme, Ankara, Turkey, June 2013 May 14th, 2013
Photonics/Optics/Lasers
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
UC Riverside scientists discovering new uses for tiny carbon nanotubes: Adding ionic liquid to nanotube films could build smaller gadgets, and create more cost effective 'Smart Windows' that darken in bright sun May 15th, 2013
HELIOS Program Develops Complete Supply Chain for Integrating Photonics with CMOS Circuit via IC Fabrication Processes May 14th, 2013
VDMA: New “Photonics Industry Report 2013” presented May 14th, 2013