Above-room-temperature operation of IV-VI microcavity lasers

We report on above-room-temperature operation of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers emitting in the mid-infrared. The stimulated emission is generated in PbTe quantum wells embedded in IV-VI microcavities by optically pumping with fs laser pulses. The spectrum of the laser modes is broadened and blue shifted due to dynamic band filling. At a wavelength of 3.5 μm, laser operation is obtained up to a temperature of 30°C, limited by the detuning of the microcavity resonance and the quantum well emission.