Ultra-broadband Semiconductor Laser

Here we present a monolithic "supercontinuum" semiconductor laser capable of continuous operation. Cooperating, individual, but all-dissimilar intersubband optical transitions in a quantum cascade configuration have been designed to provide broadband optical gain from 5 to 8 (*mm wavelength. Laser action with a Fabry-Perot spectrum covering all wavelengths from 6 to 8 (*mm simultaneously has been demonstrated. Lasers, which emit light over such an extremely wide wavelength range, are of interest for applications as varied as terabit optical data communications or ultra-precision metrology and spectroscopy.