Continuous wave quantum cascade lasers with 5.6 W output power at room temperature and 41% wall-plug efficiency in cryogenic operation

In this paper, we report a post-polishing technique to achieve nearly complete surface planarization for the buried ridge regrowth processing of quantum cascade lasers. The planarized device geometry improves the thermal conduction and reliability and, most importantly, enhances the power and efficiency in continuous wave operation. With this technique, we demonstrate a high continuous wave wall-plug efficiency of an InP-based quantum cascade laser reaching ∼41% with an output power of ∼12 W from a single facet operating at liquid nitrogen temperature. At room temperature, the continuous wave output power exceeds the previous record, reaching ∼5.6 W.