University of Surrey Awarded £118K to Build Uncooled Mid-Infrared Semiconducting Lasers

The University of Surrey has been awarded £118K as part of a DTI-funded consortium of two Universities and five industrial partners, led by Qinetiq, with total funding from the DTI of £1m for the next three years. The aim of this project is to make uncooled mid-infrared semiconductor lasers for the next decade and beyond.

The practical realisation of mid-infrared semiconductor lasers which can operate at room temperature will revolutionise how we utilise these lasers, transforming them from a specialist research curiosity to a pervasive technology for healthcare, environmental monitoring and manufacturing, free space optical communications and other applications. For example, these lasers will enable the development of an entirely new instrument for medical imaging at the nanoscale. We are seeking to achieve a breakthrough in obtaining room temperature operation of MIR semiconductor lasers, through use of strained layer engineering at the nanoscale to develop a novel laser with a highly efficient active region containing InAlSb/InSb quantum wells.

Researchers from the ATI at the University of Surrey are responsible for theoretical modelling of the laser structures.