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WaterSpy: A High Sensitivity, Portable Photonic Device for Pervasive Water Quality Analysis
摘要： In this paper, we present WaterSpy, a project developing an innovative, compact, cost-effective photonic device for pervasive water quality sensing, operating in the mid-IR spectral range. The approach combines the use of advanced Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) employing the Vernier effect, used as light source, with novel, fibre-coupled, fast and sensitive Higher Operation Temperature (HOT) photodetectors, used as sensors. These will be complemented by optimised laser driving and detector electronics, laser modulation and signal conditioning technologies. The paper presents the WaterSpy concept, the requirements elicited, the preliminary architecture design of the device, the use cases in which it will be validated, while highlighting the innovative technologies that contribute to the advancement of the current state of the art.
关键词： Quantum Cascade Lasers,photonics,water quality monitoring,photodetectors
更新于2025-09-23 15:22:29
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Advances in Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy-Based Sensing Techniques for Exhaled Breath Diagnostics
摘要： Human exhaled breath consists of more than 3000 volatile organic compounds, many of which are relevant biomarkers for various diseases. Although gas chromatography has been the gold standard for volatile organic compound (VOC) detection in exhaled breath, recent developments in mid-infrared (MIR) laser spectroscopy have led to the promise of compact point-of-care (POC) optical instruments enabling even single breath diagnostics. In this review, we discuss the evolution of MIR sensing technologies with a special focus on photoacoustic spectroscopy, and its application in exhaled breath biomarker detection. While mid-infrared point-of-care instrumentation promises high sensitivity and inherent molecular selectivity, the lack of standardization of the various techniques has to be overcome for translating these techniques into more widespread real-time clinical use.
关键词： point-of-care (POC),infrared lasers,MIR,photoacoustic spectroscopy,biomarkers,exhaled breath analysis,non-invasive diagnostics,QCL,quantum cascade lasers,mid-infrared
更新于2025-09-23 15:21:01
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EXPRESS: Mid-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy of Oil Sands Minerals Based on Tunable Quantum Cascade Lasers
摘要： Minerals play an important role in the oil sands extraction efficiency. It is thus important to assess the major mineral abundance in oil sands ores. This paper presents the application of tunable quantum cascade lasers for mid-infrared reflectance spectroscopy on oil sands minerals. The investigations and results show a new tool to determine oil sands mineral type and to determine potentially quartz and clay contents.
关键词： Mid-infrared spectroscopy,mid-IR,reflectance spectroscopy,oil sands,QCL,quantum cascade lasers
更新于2025-09-23 15:21:01
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Ultrafast response of harmonic modelocked THz lasers
摘要： The use of fundamental modelocking to generate short terahertz (THz) pulses and THz frequency combs from semiconductor lasers has become a routine affair, using quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) as a gain medium. However, unlike classic laser diodes, no demonstrations of harmonic modelocking, active or passive, have been shown in THz QCLs, where multiple pulses per round trip are generated when the laser is modulated at the harmonics of the cavity’s fundamental round-trip frequency. Here, using time-resolved THz techniques, we show for the ?rst time harmonic injection and mode-locking in which THz QCLs are modulated at the harmonics of the round-trip frequency. We demonstrate the generation of the harmonic electrical beatnote within a QCL, its injection locking to an active modulation and its direct translation to harmonic pulse generation using the unique ultrafast nature of our approach. Finally, we show indications of self-starting harmonic emission, i.e., without external modulation, where the QCL operates exclusively on a harmonic (up to its 15th harmonic) of the round-trip frequency. This behaviour is supported by time-resolved simulations of induced gain and loss in the system and shows the importance of the electronic, as well as photonic, nature of QCLs. These results open up the prospect of passive harmonic modelocking and THz pulse generation, as well as the generation of low-noise microwave generation in the hundreds of GHz region.
关键词： harmonic modelocking,ultrafast response,THz QCLs,terahertz pulses,quantum cascade lasers
更新于2025-09-23 15:21:01
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Volume Fabrication of Quantum Cascade Lasers on 200 mm-CMOS pilot line
摘要： The manufacturing cost of quantum cascade lasers is still a major bottleneck for the adoption of this technology for chemical sensing. The integration of Mid-Infrared sources on Si substrate based on CMOS technology paves the way for high-volume low-cost fabrication. Furthermore, the use of Si-based fabrication platform opens the way to the co-integration of QCL Mid-InfraRed sources with SiGe-based waveguides, enabling realization of optical sensors fully integrated on planar substrate. We report here the fabrication and the characterization of DFB-QCL sources using top metal grating approach working at 7.4 μm fully implemented on our 200 mm CMOS pilot line. These QCL featured threshold current density of 2.5 kA/cm2 and a linewidth of 0.16 cm?1 with a high fabrication yield. This approach paves the way toward a Mid-InfraRed spectrometer at the silicon chip level.
关键词： Mid-Infrared sources,DFB-QCL sources,Si substrate,CMOS technology,Quantum Cascade Lasers
更新于2025-09-23 15:21:01
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Bayesian Optimization of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers
摘要： We use Bayesian optimization algorithms in combination with a nonequilibrium Green’s function transport model to increase the maximum operating temperature of terahertz quantum cascade lasers. This procedure lead to the recent temperature record of 210 K in terahertz quantum cascade lasers, and here we provide even-further-improved structures. The Bayesian optimization algorithm, which takes into account all the available history of the optimization, converges much faster and more securely than the commonly used genetic algorithm. Designs based on two and three wells per period are considered, and using the large amount of data generated, we systematically evaluate the studied schemes in terms of optimal extraction energy and relevance of electron-electron correlations. This analysis shows that the two-well scheme is superior for reaching high operating temperatures, while the three-well scheme is more robust to variations in layer thicknesses. Furthermore, we study the sensitivity to ?ux-rate ?uctuations during growth and simulation-model inaccuracies, showing the period thickness needs to be controlled to within a few percent, which is challenging but achievable with present-day molecular-beam epitaxy. These limits to the growth accuracy can be a guiding principle for experimentalists, along with the suggestion to fabricate devices across the wafer radius so as to ?nd the optimal period thickness.
关键词： Bayesian optimization,electron-electron correlations,nonequilibrium Green’s function,terahertz quantum cascade lasers,molecular-beam epitaxy
更新于2025-09-23 15:19:57
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Effect of cold finger temperature on optical pulse modulation characteristics in a 2.59 terahertz quantum cascade laser
摘要： Terahertz (THz) frequency sources such as quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) offer a variety of new applications in far-infrared frequency bands. For better understanding of their behavior, a device-specific modeling approach is used to predict the optical output power under current modulation and chip temperature. This letter reports the numerical simulation of gain switching to evaluate temperature dependence for short pulse generation in QCLs. Modified rate equations are used for self-consistent computation of emitted THz optical power from QCLs. The device emits at 116 μm and is driven by various inputs such as haversine, tangential hyperbolic and square electrical pulses. From the simulation it is evident that the square input pulse requires the least magnitude current (0.83 A) at 15 K to generate pulses with minimum full width half maximum (FWHM). Moreover, when the peak amplitude of the square input signal is 1.01 A, it generates optical pulses with the least FWHM of 19.42 ps at 45 K. In the case of the haversine input with peak amplitude of 1.8A, a peak power of 27.86 mW is generated at 15 K.
关键词： cold finger temperature,rate equation model,numerical simulation,quantum cascade lasers,full width half maximum,gain switching,optical short pulses
更新于2025-09-23 15:19:57
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Artificial Intelligence Assisted Mid-Infrared Laser Spectroscopy In Situ Detection of Petroleum in Soils
摘要： A simple, remote-sensed method of detection of traces of petroleum in soil combining artificial intelligence (AI) with mid-infrared (MIR) laser spectroscopy is presented. A portable MIR quantum cascade laser (QCL) was used as an excitation source, making the technique amenable to field applications. The MIR spectral region is more informative and useful than the near IR region for the detection of pollutants in soil. Remote sensing, coupled with a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, was used to accurately identify the presence/absence of traces of petroleum in soil mixtures. Chemometrics tools such as principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and SVM demonstrated the effectiveness of rapidly differentiating between different soil types and detecting the presence of petroleum traces in different soil matrices such as sea sand, red soil, and brown soil. Comparisons between results of PLS-DA and SVM were based on sensitivity, selectivity, and areas under receiver-operator curves (ROC). An innovative statistical analysis method of calculating limits of detection (LOD) and limits of decision (LD) from fits of the probability of detection was developed. Results for QCL/PLS-DA models achieved LOD and LD of 0.2% and 0.01% for petroleum/soil, respectively. The superior performance of QCL/SVM models improved these values to 0.04% and 0.003%, respectively, providing better identification probability of soils contaminated with petroleum.
关键词： chemometrics,soil,artificial intelligence (AI),multivariate analysis,mid-infrared (MIR) laser spectroscopy,petroleum,quantum cascade lasers (QCLs)
更新于2025-09-23 15:19:57
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[IEEE 2019 International Conference on Smart Systems and Inventive Technology (ICSSIT) - Tirunelveli, India (2019.11.27-2019.11.29)] 2019 International Conference on Smart Systems and Inventive Technology (ICSSIT) - Power Quality Enhancement of a Photovoltaic Based Micro Grid System Using Optimized Fuzzy Controller with SAPF
摘要： We investigate terahertz quantum cascade lasers with a dense array of active micropillars forming the gain medium. Depending on the size of these pillars relative to the emission wavelength different optical regimes are identified. For pillar dimensions on the order of the emission wavelength, a photonic crystal resonator is created. Single mode emission is observed at high symmetry points of the photonic band structure. The selection mechanism of the favored laser mode is studied by analyzing the gain enhancement effect for eigenmodes with a low group velocity and a large mode confinement of the electric field energy in the micropillars. Subwavelength micropillar arrays constitute a photonic metamaterial, which can be described using an effective medium approximation. Similar to a bulk laser ridge, the array forms a Fabry–Pérot resonator that is defined by the boundaries of the array. From the longitudinal mode spacing, we derive an effective group index of the pillar medium. Limitations in terms of minimum filling factors and waveguide losses for the realization of subwavelength micropillar and nanowire array terahertz quantum cascade lasers are investigated.
关键词： optical metamaterials,terahertz,optical waveguides,Photonic crystals,quantum cascade lasers
更新于2025-09-23 15:19:57
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Ultra-broadband mid-infrared Ge-on-Si waveguide polarization rotator
摘要： The design, modeling, micro-fabrication, and characterization of an ultra-broadband Ge-on-Si waveguide polarization rotator are presented. The polarization rotator is based on the mode evolution approach where adiabatic symmetric and anti-symmetric tapers are utilized to convert from the fundamental transverse magnetic to electric mode. The device is shown to be extremely fabrication tolerant and simple to fabricate. The fabricated devices demonstrate a polarization extinction ratio of ≥15 dB over a 2 μm bandwidth (9–11 μm wavelength) with an average insertion loss of <1 dB, which is an order of magnitude improvement compared to previously demonstrated devices. This device will provide polarization flexibility when integrating quantum cascade lasers on-chip for mid-infrared waveguide molecular spectroscopy.
关键词： mid-infrared,Ge-on-Si,polarization rotator,waveguide,quantum cascade lasers
更新于2025-09-23 15:19:57