MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intraband announced today that it has received a Department of Defense (DOD) Navy STTR Phase II contract to develop quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) with 40% wall-plug efficiency for the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) wavelength region. Previously, Intraband and UW-Madison researchers had reported record-high internal QCL efficiency values and that the upper limit in QCL wall-plug efficiency can be significantly raised based on their patented Step-Taper Active approach to QCL design. In turn, Intraband team’s proposal led to winning the $1,000,000 three-year program.
High wall-plug efficiency has been key to the dramatic success of conventional near-infrared lasers for marking, welding, and medical procedures. The low input-power requirement together with the small size of the semiconductor-laser chip enable systems that combine many of those lasers together to provide the extremely-high optical power levels needed for those applications. The QCL is now poised to bring these same advantages to the MWIR spectral region which includes important “windows” in atmospheric absorption where infrared light may be transmitted over many kilometers, enabling free-space communication and environmental gas sensing. MWIR light sources are key to many applications in the medical, industrial, and defense industries.
Dan Botez, the project’s Principal Investigator and Intraband co-founder, states “Our approach to efficiency is to use band-gap and interface-roughness engineering to get the most out of every injected electron while minimizing device operating voltage. Industry-proven, metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition (MOCVD) allows us to use material compositions not possible with other crystal-growth methods while providing the best device reliability.” Intraband President, Rob Marsland, comments, “The system developers are very excited about the prospect of QCLs with dramatically higher wall-plug efficiency. They can begin to implement QCL solutions now knowing that there is room for continuing improvement.”
About Intraband
Intraband, LLC is a privately held company dedicated to developing and delivering mid-infrared solutions exploiting the bandgap-engineering capability and product reliability provided by MOCVD crystal growth. To inquire further, you will receive the quickest response to inquiries by contacting Rob Marsland.
