A comprehensive experimental analysis of the frequency fluctuations of a mid-infrared interband cascade laser, down to the quantum-limited operation, is reported. These lasers differ from any other class of semiconductor lasers in their structure and internal carrier generation and transport processes. Although already commercially available, a full evaluation of their potential has not been possible, until now, mainly because their internal dynamics are not yet understood well enough. The measured intrinsic linewidth, down to 10 kHz, ranks them in between quantum cascade and bipolar semiconductor lasers. Understanding the noise features is especially important for demanding applications and is a necessary step for a deeper knowledge of the physical behavior for this class of lasers, in view of the development of novel designs for improved performance.

中文翻译：

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揭示带间级联激光器的量子限制操作

报道了对中红外带间级联激光器的频率波动直至量子极限操作的综合实验分析。这些激光器在结构，内部载流子产生和传输过程方面与任何其他类别的半导体激光器都不同。尽管它们已经可以从市场上买到，但是直到现在，仍无法对其潜力进行全面评估，这主要是因为它们的内部动力学尚未得到足够的了解。测得的固有线宽（低至10 kHz）使它们位于量子级联激光器和双极半导体激光器之间。了解噪声特征对于要求苛刻的应用尤为重要，并且是深入了解此类激光器的物理行为的必要步骤，