The latest achievement in microfabrication by Alpes Lasers successfully manufacturing the Single-Mode Interband-Cascade Laser

On July 27th Alpes Laser announced the successful manufacturing of Single-Mode Interband-Cascade Lasers (ICLs) within the iQonic project.

ICLs are a mid-IR light source with emissions in the 2.7 – 3.9 μm range used for the detection of hydrocarbon and other gases. Manufacturing single-mode lasers require the etching of micron-scale gratings into the active region with extremely high accuracy and fine precision. This is especially the case for interband-cascade lasers  which emit at shorter wavelengths than quantum-cascade lasers, and therefore require even smaller spacings in the grating to achieve single-mode emission.

This latest achievement in microfabrication by Alpes Lasers leads to a reduction in the wavelengths spanning of single-mode ICLs, that moves from 3.39 to 3.5 µm, hence paving the way to a further shortening of single-mode ICLs wavelengths.

SEM image of a distributed feedback grating as used in a single-mode ICL

This work lies an important achievement demonstrating Alpes Lasers’ ongoing research and development in the manufacturing process of solid-state lasers. In particular, the grating etching is an error-prone process which is highly relevant to iQonic’s stated goal of offering a zero-defect manufacturing platform.

Link to the publication