Russian physicists have developed a unique quantum cascade laser that can consistently produce terahertz radiation in the range of 3.1-3.9 THz. This breakthrough in technology creates new opportunities for the creation of advanced communication systems, medical diagnostic devices and space sensors. MIPT researchers emphasized that the development of such lasers is one of the most difficult problems in quantum electronics and that only a few countries have been able to solve it today.
Rustam Khabibullin, head of the quantum cascade lasers laboratory, noted that most existing lasers face the problem of overheating and can only operate with short pulses. Russian scientists have proposed a new design that reduces the current density by almost an order of magnitude and solves the heating problem. The success was made possible thanks to the idea of academician Alexander Prokhorov, who in 1965 proposed the use of double photonic transitions to increase the efficiency of lasers.
The key step was the growth of a complex structure consisting of 160 amplifier modules, each consisting of quantum wells with a layer thickness of only 3-7 nanometers. This study, carried out by our colleagues from the Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, required high precision and a long time. Tests showed that the created lasers produced terahertz beams of constant power over a wide temperature range; This opens up application prospects in medical diagnostics, wireless communications, and research equipment for space.
Source: Ferra
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