Correlation of Superlattice Cross-Plane Thermal Conductivity with Emission Wavelength in InAlAs/InGaAs Quantum Cascade Lasers

The low cross-plane thermal conductivity of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) is a significant limitation in their Continuous-Wave (CW) performance. Structural parameters such as individual layer thicknesses and interface density vary for QCLs with different target emission wavelengths, and these design parameters are expected to influence the cross-plane thermal conductivity. Though previous works have used theoretical models and experimental data to quantify thermal conductivity, the correlation between target wavelength and thermal conductivity has yet to be reported for QCLs. In this work, we observe a general trend across a group of QCLs emitting from 3.7 to 8.7 mu m: as the QCL design changes to reduce wavelength, the thermal conductivity decreases as well. Numerically, we measured an approximate 70% reduction in thermal conductivity, from 1.5 W/(m center dot K) for the 8.7 mu m device, to 0.9 W/(m center dot K) for the 3.7 mu m device. Analysis of these structures with the Diffuse Mismatch Model (DMM) for thermal boundary resistance (TBR) shows that the largest contribution of this effect is the impact of superlattice interface density on the thermal conductivity. The observed changes in conductivity result in significant changes in projected CW optical power and should be considered in laser design.