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Quantum cascade lasers (QCL) for active hyperspectral imaging

  • Quankui Yang

    Quankui Yang received his PhD degree in Solid-State Electronics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China, in 2000. After that, he joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid-State Physics (IAF), Freiburg, Germany, as a research scientist. His work mainly focuses on the development and application of infrared semiconductor lasers in particular quantum cascade lasers. His interests also include other semiconductor devices such as infrared detectors, heterojunction bipolar transistors, and backward diodes. Dr. Yang is a co-inventor of three patents, has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal papers, and contributed to an edition of Landolt-Börnstein dedicated to quantum cascade lasers.

         , Frank Fuchs

    Frank Fuchs received his PhD degree in Physics from Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany, in 1991. Since then, he has carried out applied research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Physics (IAF), Freiburg, Germany. During 2004–2005, he worked as a Visiting Scientist at the Center for Quantum Devices at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. His research interests include work on infrared devices based on low gap semiconductors. More recently, he has been concentrating on standoff detection of hazardous substances using broadband tunable quantum cascade lasers. He has co-authored more than 100 refereed journal articles and two book chapters, he has contributed to an edition of Landoldt-Börnstein, and presented 17 invited talks on international conferences.

         and Joachim Wagner

    Joachim Wagner received the PhD degree in Physics from the University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, in 1982. From 1982 to 1984 he worked at the “Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung”, Stuttgart, Germany, in the group of Prof. M. Cardona before joining the Fraunhofer-Institut for Applied Solid State Physics, Freiburg, Germany, in 1985. There he is currently deputy director and head of the Department of “Optoelectronic Modules”. He is also Professor at the Institute of Physics of the University of Freiburg and an associated member of the Materials Research Center Freiburg (FMF). His current research interests include III/V-semiconductor heterostructures and their application in optoelectronic devices both for the infrared and the visible/uv spectral range. He is author or coauthor of more than 450 scientific publications including several review papers and book chapters.

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Published/Copyright: March 14, 2014
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Advanced Optical Technologies
From the journal Advanced Optical Technologies Volume 3 Issue 2

Abstract

There is an increasing demand for wavelength agile laser sources covering the mid-infrared (MIR, 3.5–12 µm) wavelength range, among others in active imaging. The MIR range comprises a particularly interesting part of the electromagnetic spectrum for active hyperspectral imaging applications, due to the fact that the characteristic ‘fingerprint’ absorption spectra of many chemical compounds lie in that range. Conventional semiconductor diode laser technology runs out of steam at such long wavelengths. For many applications, MIR coherent light sources based on solid state lasers in combination with optical parametric oscillators are too complex and thus bulky and expensive. In contrast, quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) constitute a class of very compact and robust semiconductor-based lasers, which are able to cover the mentioned wavelength range using the same semiconductor material system. In this tutorial, a brief review will be given on the state-of-the-art of QCL technology. Special emphasis will be addressed on QCL variants with well-defined spectral properties and spectral tunability. As an example for the use of wavelength agile QCL for active hyperspectral imaging, stand-off detection of explosives based on imaging backscattering laser spectroscopy will be discussed.

Keywords: active hyperspectral imaging; quantum cascade lasers
Corresponding author: Joachim Wagner, Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Festkörperphysik, Tullastrasse 72, 79108 Freiburg, Germany, e-mail:

About the authors

Quankui Yang

Quankui Yang received his PhD degree in Solid-State Electronics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China, in 2000. After that, he joined the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid-State Physics (IAF), Freiburg, Germany, as a research scientist. His work mainly focuses on the development and application of infrared semiconductor lasers in particular quantum cascade lasers. His interests also include other semiconductor devices such as infrared detectors, heterojunction bipolar transistors, and backward diodes. Dr. Yang is a co-inventor of three patents, has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal papers, and contributed to an edition of Landolt-Börnstein dedicated to quantum cascade lasers.

Frank Fuchs

Frank Fuchs received his PhD degree in Physics from Freiburg University, Freiburg, Germany, in 1991. Since then, he has carried out applied research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Physics (IAF), Freiburg, Germany. During 2004–2005, he worked as a Visiting Scientist at the Center for Quantum Devices at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. His research interests include work on infrared devices based on low gap semiconductors. More recently, he has been concentrating on standoff detection of hazardous substances using broadband tunable quantum cascade lasers. He has co-authored more than 100 refereed journal articles and two book chapters, he has contributed to an edition of Landoldt-Börnstein, and presented 17 invited talks on international conferences.

Joachim Wagner

Joachim Wagner received the PhD degree in Physics from the University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, in 1982. From 1982 to 1984 he worked at the “Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung”, Stuttgart, Germany, in the group of Prof. M. Cardona before joining the Fraunhofer-Institut for Applied Solid State Physics, Freiburg, Germany, in 1985. There he is currently deputy director and head of the Department of “Optoelectronic Modules”. He is also Professor at the Institute of Physics of the University of Freiburg and an associated member of the Materials Research Center Freiburg (FMF). His current research interests include III/V-semiconductor heterostructures and their application in optoelectronic devices both for the infrared and the visible/uv spectral range. He is author or coauthor of more than 450 scientific publications including several review papers and book chapters.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank R. Aidam, W. Bronner, R. Driad, S. Hugger, J. Jarvis, C. Schilling, and R. Ostendorf for valuable contributions as well as the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Commission for continued project funding.

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Published Online: 2014-3-14
Published in Print: 2014-4-1

©2014 by THOSS Media & De Gruyter Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Cover and Frontmatter
  2. Views
  3. Transferring diffractive optics from research to commercial applications: Part II – size estimations for selected markets
  4. Community
  5. Conference Notes
  6. Conference Calendar
  7. Topical Issue: Active Imaging
  8. Editorial
  9. Active Imaging
  10. Tutorials
  11. Quantum cascade lasers (QCL) for active hyperspectral imaging
  12. Active gated imaging in driver assistance system
  13. Review Articles
  14. Active spectral imaging and mapping
  15. Beam shaping of laser diode stacks for compact and efficient illumination devices at the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis
  16. Research Articles
  17. Time-correlated single-photon counting range profiling and reflectance tomographic imaging
  18. Optical stimulator for vision-based sensors
https://doi.org/10.1515/aot-2014-0006
Keywords for this article
active hyperspectral imaging; quantum cascade lasers

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Cover and Frontmatter
  2. Views
  3. Transferring diffractive optics from research to commercial applications: Part II – size estimations for selected markets
  4. Community
  5. Conference Notes
  6. Conference Calendar
  7. Topical Issue: Active Imaging
  8. Editorial
  9. Active Imaging
  10. Tutorials
  11. Quantum cascade lasers (QCL) for active hyperspectral imaging
  12. Active gated imaging in driver assistance system
  13. Review Articles
  14. Active spectral imaging and mapping
  15. Beam shaping of laser diode stacks for compact and efficient illumination devices at the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis
  16. Research Articles
  17. Time-correlated single-photon counting range profiling and reflectance tomographic imaging
  18. Optical stimulator for vision-based sensors
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