title: Temperature dependence of the frequency noise in a mid-IR DFB quantum cascade laser from cryogenic to room temperature.
abstract: We report on the measurement of the frequency noise power spectral density in a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser over a wide temperature range, from 128 K to 303 K. As a function of the device temperature, we show that the frequency noise behavior is characterized by two different regimes separated by a steep transition at ≈200 K. While the frequency noise is nearly unchanged above 200 K, it drastically increases at lower temperature with an exponential dependence. We also show that this increase is entirely induced by current noise intrinsic to the device. In contrast to earlier publications, a single laser is used here in a wide temperature range allowing the direct assessment of the temperature dependence of the frequency noise.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Temps-Fréquence, Université de Neuchâtel, Avenue de Bellevaux 51, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. lionel.tombez@unine.ch
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tombez
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schilt
authors.forename: Joab
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Di Francesco
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomann
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hofstetter
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007259:Infrared Rays; D007834:Lasers; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D013696:Temperature