DFB laser diodes between 3 µm and 3.5 µm

New Product:

DFB laser diodes between 3 µm and 3.5 µm

Fig. 1: Spectrum of a packaged (TO5, inset), application grade DFB laser emitting around 3.37 µm in cw operation at 10°C and 125 mA 2

Fig. 2: DFB emission wavelength tuning by variation of the operation current at different chip temperatures 2

Fig. 3: cw L-I characteristics of a DFB laser with emission around 3.37 µm at different chip temperatures 2

Please download the datasheet here.

2 Copyright by the Institution of Engineering and Technology. According publication: Nähle, L. ; Belahsene, S. ; Edlinger, M. von ; Fischer, M. ; Boissier, G. ; Grech, P. ; Narcy, G. ; Vicet, A. ; Rouillard, Y. ; Koeth, J. ; Worschech, L.;

Continuous-wave operation of type-I quantum well DFB laser diodes emitting in 3.4 µm wavelength range around room temperature; Electronics Letters 47 (2011), p. 46

Characteristics:

wavelengths: 3000 nm to 3500 nm
continuous wave (cw) at room temperature
side mode suppression ratio: ≥ 40 dB
tuning range: typically 9 nm

DFB lasers exceeding 3 µm for industrial applications

New applications in gas sensing enabled by recently developed long wavelength DFB lasers

nanoplus has extended the monomode emission wavelength of application grade diode lasers for gas sensing to the 3.5 µm range.

Applications especially concerning hydrocarbon detection are made possible by the new devices.

The near infrared (NIR) wavelength range up to 3 µm comprises many absorption features of gases of great relevance for industrial applications,
such as water and carbon dioxide. Very strong characteristic absorptions (related to fundamental molecular transitions) of most hydrocarbons are located in the longer wavelength mid infrared (MIR) range around 3.0 – 3.6 µm. For an uncomplicated and inexpensive use, utilized lasers ideally operate in continuous wave (cw) mode at room temperature.
Within the European project SensHy (www.senshy.eu) such monomode lasers have been developed by nanoplus. The produced DFB lasers operate in wavelength ranges up to 3.4 µm. Their applicability in high quality hydrocarbon sensing is guaranteed by outstanding spectral properties. As an example, a laser device for detection of methane or propane at 3.37 µm is presented here. Fig. 1 shows a spectrum of the DFB laser operating in cw mode at a chip temperature of 10°C under a forward current of 125 mA. The emission is clearly monomode. Side-mode suppression ratios of the devices are typically of the order of 40 dB and higher - an excellent value for high selectivity gas sensing. A plot depicting the temperature and current tunability of the monomode emission wavelength of the DFB lasers is shown in Fig. 2. The overall tuning is generally around 9 nm. Higher power options are currently under development at nanoplus, as well as even larger wavelength coverage.

References

P. Kluczynski, M. Jahjah, L. Nähle, O. Axner, S. Belahsene, M. Fischer, J. Koeth, Y. Rouillard, J.Westberg, A. Vicet, S. Lundqvist Detection of acetylene impurities in ethylene and polyethylene manufacturing processes using tunable diode laser spectroscopy in the 3-μm range Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics 105, Nr. 2, S. 427–434, 2011