Lead chalcogenide mid-infrared diode lasers fabricated by ion-implantation

Ar/sup +/ implanted PbSe mid-infrared (MIR) lasers have been fabricated, characterized, and analyzed. For the first time, the operation of ion-implanted lead-salt mid-infrared diode lasers in continuous-wave (CW) mode at temperatures above 77 K was achieved. The maximum operating temperatures of 115 K in CW mode and 155 K in pulse mode were reached. These lasers have high output power, low linewidth, and small tuning rate, as well as comparatively low threshold currents. These promising properties demonstrated that ion-implanted MIR lasers are competitive candidates as tunable sources in the applications of high-resolution spectroscopy and trace-gas analysis.