Single mode laser based on lnAsSb/InAsSbP double heterostructure with tuning from 3.224 to 3.234 μm

A new type of semiconductor laser based on an InAsSb/InAsSbP double heterostructure and having just a single tuned spectral I line is described for spectroscopy of atmospherically important molecules in the 3100 cm(-1) region. The lasers are tested using a closed-cycle He-cryostat in the temperature range 12-100 K. The optimal characteristics of the lasers are found to be a temperature range of 17-80 K and a drive current range of 50-400 mA. Under these conditions, the laser emission can be tuned in a single-mode regime over a range greater than 10 cm(-1). Experiments are performed to measure the rovibrational absorption spectra of CH3Cl, NH3, OCS and H2O, which prove the generation to be the single-mode one. The estimated spectral emission line-widths vary from 7 to 30 MHz depending on current and from laser to laser.