Mid-Infrared Lead-Salt VECSEL (Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) for Spectroscopy

We present the first mid-infrared VECSEL (Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) for wavelengths above 3 μm. The structure is very simple: A 2 μm thick PbTe layer is embedded between two high reflectance mirrors and used as gain medium. It is optically pumped with a 1.5 μm wavelength laser. Emission is around 5 μm wavelength and output power up to > 40 mWp at 110K.