IV-VI compound midinfrared high-reflectivity mirrors and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Midinfrared broadband high-reflectivity Pb1-xSrxSe/BaF2 distributed Bragg r eflectors and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with PbSe as the active material were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Because of an ex tremely high index contrast, mirrors with only three quarter-wave layer pai rs had reflectivities exceeding 99%. For pulsed optical pumping, a lead sal t VCSEL emitting at the cavity wavelength of 4.5-4.6 mu m operated nearly t o room temperature (289 K). (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003- 6951(00)04425-9].