Comparative analysis of thermal properties of various quantum-cascade lasers

Abstract

Simulation finite-element thermal model of the quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) has been developed to investigate thermal properties of various known QCL designs. An important phenomenon of phonon scattering at layer boundaries, which is responsible for a dramatic increase in thermal resistances of multi-layered devices, has been taken into consideration. From among currently known QCLs designs, the double-channel QCL design with a heat sink attached to the active-region device side has happened to manifest definitely the best thermal properties.