Gratings with an aperiodic basis: single-mode emission in multi-wavelength lasers

• Main Authors: Blanchard, R. (Author), Menzel, S. (Author), Pflugl, C. (Author), Diehl, L. (Author), Wang, Christine A. (Contributor), Huang, Y. (Author), Ryou, J.-H (Author), Dupuis, R. D. (Author), Negro, L. Dal (Author), Capasso, Federico (Author)
• Other Authors: Lincoln Laboratory (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Physics Publishing, 2012-05-09T15:39:24Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

We propose a new class of gratings having multiple spatial frequencies. Their design relies on the use of small aperiodic grating sequences as unit cells whose repetition forms a superlattice. The superlattice provides well-defined Fourier components, while the choice of the unit cell structure enables the selection, modulation or suppression of certain Fourier components. Using these gratings to provide distributed feedback in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers, we demonstrate simultaneous lasing on multiple well-defined and isolated longitudinal modes, each one having a sidemode suppression ratio of about 20 dB.
United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (MURI 67N-1069926)
Harvard University (Nanoscale Systems and Engineering Center)
United States. Air Force ('Deterministic Aperiodic Structures for Onchip Nanophotonic and Nanoplasmonic Device Applications' under award no. FA9550-10-1- 0019)
National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF CAREER Award ECCS-0846651)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Steve W. Chaddick Endowed Chair of OptoElectronics)