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

Ar+ 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 continuos-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 promis-properties demonstrated that ion-implanted MIR lasers are competitive candidates as tunable sources in the applications of high-resolution spectroscopy and trace-gas analysis.