Near-Infrared Optical Illumination for Injection Locking in Quantum Cascade Lasers

• Published in: 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC) p. 1
• Main Authors: Bertrand, M., Parriaux, A., Komagata, K. N., Sudmeyer, T., Faist, J.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 26-06-2023
• Subjects: Electric potential; Europe; Frequency conversion; Injection-locked oscillators; Lighting; Nonlinear optics; Quantum cascade lasers
• ISSN: 2833-1052
• DOI: 10.1109/CLEO/Europe-EQEC57999.2023.10232004

Since their first demonstration in 1994 [1], quantum cascade lasers (QCL) have shown great potential for many applications and more recently, it was also demonstrated that QCLs can generate frequency combs in the mid-infrared (MIR) [2]. Comb generation directly in the MIR is not trivial [3], and this spectral region is usually reached by nonlinear frequency conversion of lasers operating in the near-infrared (NIR). Hence using QCLs is advantageous especially considering their low footprint and high optical power properties. While QCL combs are routinely used in free-running states, stabilization of one or both comb degrees of freedom is necessary to harness the full potential of QCL as frequency combs. It was recently achieved by optical injection [4], or stabilization to a molecular reference [5].