Interband cascade lasers in the MIR for sensing applications

This talk gives an insight into the development and the device performance of various ICL based sources in the mid infrared (MIR) wavelength region for application in high accuracy sensing. As an example, DFB type ICL devices based on a lateral metal grating structure were fabricated using an overgrowth free processing route. These devices have been realized in the entire spectral range from 2.8 to 5.2 μm in the MIR. Total tuning ranges of around 20 nm can be covered by these DFB devices providing typically 5 mW of optical output power with low power consumption based on a low operating current and voltage. Device concepts for extended wavelength coverage in the MIR will also be presented. All fabricated MIR sources are targeting high performance sensor applications in fields like industrial process control or environmental monitoring and various application examples will be highlighted in the talk.