A 7.8-μm surface emitting second-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser （DFB QCL） structure with metallized surface grating is studied. The modal property of this structure is described by utilizing coupled-mode theory where the coupling coefficients are derived from exact Floquet-Bloch solutions of infinite periodic structure. Based on this theory, the influence of waveguide structure and grating topography as well as device length on the laser performance is numerically investigated. The optimized surface emitting second-order DFB QCL structure design exhibits a high surface outcoupling efficiency of 22% and a low threshold gain of 10 cm-1. Using a π phase-shift in the centre of the grating, a high-quality single-lobe far-field radiation pattern is obtained.
The tapered quantum cascade lasers operating at about 9.0/zm are reported. In contrast to the common ridge waveguide laser, tapered devices give rather small horizontal beam divergence. Performances of devices with identical 11 μm ridge waveguide sections and different tapered gain sections are comparatively studied. The optimal taper angle of 3° leads to a relative high output power and a very small horizontal beam divergence of 7.1 °.
