Feasibility analysis of phonon lasers

We identify the main reason impeding coherent generation of phonons in solid state - the inherently high density of phonon states. Based on the results of our analysis we formulate a set of conditions that may make phonon lasing practical and point out the most promising mechanism of phonon lasing: LO/spl rarr/LA+TO in InP. We then develop a complete set of phonon laser equations and evaluate the threshold, output power and efficiency of phonon lasers based on InP MESFET. We show that one can obtain high-power 1.26-THz coherent phonon emission with pump power as small as a few milliwatts and up to 5% slope efficiency. Potential applications are also discussed.