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Theorists Propose Using Heat to Power QCLs

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INNSBRUCK, Austria, Nov. 14, 2012 — What if you could use the heat generated in a quantum cascade laser — something that normally causes the lasing to turn off — to power the device instead? Two physicists from the University of Innsbruck have suggested just that. While looking for ways to reduce heat in these lasers, they came up with a novel idea: Let heat power the laser. They propose a theory that the heating effect in quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) could not only be avoided but, in fact, reversed and used to the laser’s advantage by cleverly modifying the semiconductor layers’ thickness. ...Read full article

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    Published: November 2012
    Glossary
    coherent radiation
    Radiation in which the phase relationship between any two points in the radiation field has a constant difference, or is exactly the same in either the spatial or the temporal mode throughout the duration of the radiation.
    laser cooling
    A process and method by which manipulation and orientation of a given number of directed laser beams decreases the motion of a group of atoms or molecules such that their internal thermodynamic temperatures reach near absolute zero. The 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips for the development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.
    photonics
    The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
    quantum cascade laser
    A quantum cascade laser (QCL) is a type of semiconductor laser that operates based on the principles of quantum mechanics. It is a versatile and powerful device used for emitting coherent light in the mid-infrared to terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Quantum cascade lasers were first proposed by Federico Capasso, Jerome Faist, Deborah Sivco, Carlo Sirtori, Albert Hutchinson, and Alfred Cho in 1994. Key features and principles of quantum cascade lasers: Quantum cascade...
    AustriaBasic Sciencecoherent lightcoherent radiationEuropefar-infrared lasersheat reduction in lasersHelmut RitschKathrin Sandnerlaser amplificationlaser coolingLaserslight amplificationlight particlesphotonicsQCLquantum cascade laserResearch & Technologysemiconductor layersterahertz lasersUniversity of Innsbruck

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