Electrically widely tunable interband cascade lasers

Electrically tunable interband cascade lasers are demonstrated with a wide tuning range of about 280 cm−1 (34 meV in energy or 630 nm in wavelength) near 4.5 μm and about 180 cm−1 (22 meV or 900 nm) near 7 μm wavelengths. The laser structures are designed such that the heating and Stark effects act together to enhance the red-shift of the lasing wavelength with current injection to achieve wide tunability. The control and manipulation of the tuning range and rate are discussed.