Objective
The purpose of this project is to make headway in the field of mid-infrared semiconductor laser diodes (LD) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the 2-3.5µm wavelength range.
This challenging objective will be accomplished by a collaborative research effort of new Antimony-based heterostructures. These narrow-bandgap quantum-well structures are good candidates for roomtemperature (temperature-stabilised) mid-infrared laser operation in the 2-3.5µm range which this project aims to demonstrate by researching the radiative optical transitions and Auger losses in these uncharted heterostructures.
The consortium is formed by three research laboratories working in the area of Antimony-based 2-5µm optoelectronic devices and one manufacturer, who will use combined expertise in III-V Antimonide semiconductor growth, materials analysis, laser processing and system design to target specifically the field of III-V antimonide infrared lasers as an important and useful class of sensing devices. To convincingly prove one of the major industrial applications, a sensing tool for specific trace gas detection (by means of tunable diode-laser absorption spectroscopy TDLAS) and for hazardous gas monitoring (HGM) will be demonstrated.
A fundamental materials study consisting of epitaxial growth, physical analysis and theoretical modelling will be performed which is absolutely indispensable to improve the quality of these materials and interfaces. A theoretical study of Sb-based heterostructures including band structure and Auger recombination calculations will also be performed since it is the detrimental factor in narrow-bandgap emitters and a comprehensive theoretical understanding is lacking.
The importance of strain, quantization and spatially-indirect transitions for strongly reducing Auger recombination have been demonstrated during the feasibility phase of the project. The consortium will now construct and in detail compare three possible ways to achieve room- temperature Sb-baser lasers based on either type I, type II or type III radiative transitions.
The specific approach consists of the competitive comparison of epitaxial growths on InAs, InP and GaSb, each with distinct advantages as explored in the feasibility phase of this project.
The availability of compact, reliable high-power midwave-infrared sources operating at ambient or thermoelectric cooler temperatures in the wavelength range of 2 µm - 3.5 µm will enhance current technological capabilities in the areas of on-line control of chemical processes and in the area of environmental monitoring of trace gases in the atmosphere.
Compared to the presently-available unreliable hot filaments conventionally used in existing instruments, III-V sources are robust, long-lived and uniform in characteristics and will provide unprecedented sensitivity (down to 0.1 ppb level). Furthermore, they can directly replace the existing cryogenic lead-salt lasers in commercially-available sensor systems in the 2.5 µm - 3.5 µm range and will provide the sole efficient room-temperature laser source for gas detection in the 2 µm - 3 µm range.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopyabsorption spectroscopy
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physics
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Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
3001 Leuven
Belgium