Mid-Infrared Surface-Emitting Two Dimensional Photonic Crystal Semiconductor Lasers

The mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, covering the electromagnetic spectrum from about 2.5 to 25 ┤m wavelength, is of unique interest for many applications, especially for molecular spectroscopy, because the vibrational frequencies of almost all target molecules and hydrocarbons are in this spectral region, such as NO, NO2, CO, CO2, HF, and CH4. The specific application areas for molecular spectroscopy include scientific research, vehicle exhaust investigation, atmospheric pollution monitoring, medical diagnostics and biological & chemical weapon detection. Besides molecular spectroscopy applications, there are also some other potential applications, such as free space optical communications, etc. (Tittel, Richter, & Fried, 2003)