D. Claire Gmachl
Lucent Technologies
| Organizer: IEEE LEOS and Nortel Institute Distinguished Lecture |
| Title: Quantum Cascade Lasers |
| Speaker: D. Claire Gmachl Lucent Technologies |
| Time and Location: Wednesday April 9, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. University of Toronto, McLennan Physics Building, Room 103 255 Huron Street, Toronto All are welcome. Refreshments will be served. |
| Abstract: Semiconductor intersubband Quantum Cascade (QC) lasers are a new and rapidly evolving technology. Some of their strengths are the intrinsic mid infrared wavelength tailorability, high-speed modulation capabilities, and fascinating design potential. After a short introduction into the basics of QC-lasers and their applications, several recent aspects will be discussed. We will present a monolithic "supercontinuum" QC-laser. Cooperating, individual, but all-dissimilar intersubband optical transitions have been designed to provide broadband optical gain from 5 to 8 micrometers wavelength. Laser action with a Fabry-Perot spectrum covering all wavelengths from 6 to 8 micrometers simultaneously has been demonstrated. Lasers, which emit light over such an extremely wide wavelength range, are of interest for applications as varied as terabit optical data communications or ultra-precision metrology and spectroscopy. Another particular interest in QC-lasers concerns their high-speed modulation capabilities and potential application to free-space optical wireless systems. This is a recent addition to the more common and well-proven use of the lasers in mid-infrared trace gas sensors, such as environmental, automotive, or medical applications. Finally, there is considerable interest in extending the wavelength range of QC-lasers to the fiber optic wavelength. We will briefly discuss the potential of group III nitrides for short wavelength intersubband lasers and photonics devices based on intersubband transitions. Time permitting I will briefly discuss our recent work on non-linear generation of light in QC-lasers. |
| Biography: Claire Gmachl received the Ph.D. degree (sub auspicies praesidentis) in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Vienna, Austria, in 1995. Her studies focused on integrated optical modulators and tunable surface-emitting lasers. In 1996, she joined Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ, as Post-Doctoral Member of Technical Staff to work on quantum cascade laser devices and microcavity lasers. She is currently a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff in the Semiconductor Physics Research Department, working on quantum cascade laser devices and applications and on intersubband photonic devices. Dr. Gmachl has co- authored over 120 publications in peer-reviewed journals, has given numerous invited talks, and holds 15 patents. She has been named a Bell Labs Distinguished Member of Staff in 2002; she is a 2002/03 IEEE/LEOS Distinguished Lecturer and one of MIT's "TR100" of 2002, she is also a co- recipient of the 2000 "NASA Group Achievement Award", and a recipient of the 1996 "Solid State Physics Award" of the Austrian Physical Society, and the "1995 Christian Doppler Award" for engineering sciences including environmental sciences. She is senior member of IEEE LEOS, and a member of numerous other professional societies. CONTACT: Emanuel Istrate, e.istrate@ieee.org |
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