Abstract
The fabrication and operating characteristics of lateral grating distributed feedback InP-based quantum cascade lasers emitting at
λ
∼
10
μ
m
are reported. High performance, room temperature single mode lasers, utilizing double-sided lateral gratings, are achieved in InP-based material grown by metal organic phase epitaxy. These deeply etched gratings are made possible by the development of a high aspect ratio, multistage, inductively coupled plasma etch process. A threshold current density of
∼
5.5
kA
∕
cm
2
is measured at room temperature and side mode suppression ratio
>
20
dB
with a tuning coefficient of
−
0.067
cm
−
1
K
−
1
is observed over a temperature range of
190
-
330
K
.