SBIR/STTR Award attributes
LongWave Photonics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are proposing the development of high operating temperature terahertz frequency Quantum Cascade Laser for the detection of H2O and OH volatiles on the lunar surface.nbsp; The improvement in operating temperature to gt; 250 K allows for increased wall plug efficiency through the use of cryocoolers which operate with improved Carnot efficiency at these temperatures.nbsp; This allows reducing the size weight and power of the QCL source for use in a lunar instrument.nbsp; In the proposed work, new quantum well structures will be engineered to increase gain at high temperature.nbsp; High operating temperatures QCLs will be fabricated into Distributed Feedback Devices to assess the feasibility of frequency control and the impact on maximum operating temperature.
