Mid-Infrared Photonic Devices

There is great worldwide interest in the development of photonic devices such as Lasers, LEDs and Photodetectors operating in the mid-infrared spectral (MIR) region (2-5 micro meters) as it contains the fundamental absorption bands of several pollutant and toxic gases and liquids. These include gases such as HCl, CO2 and CO which require accurate, in-situ multi-component monitoring in a number of industries such as oil-rigs, land-fill sites and car exhausts. Strong absorption bands also exist for drug intermediates, pharmaceuticals, narcotics and biochemicals where the absorption strength is typically 2 orders of magnitude stronger than in the near-infrared allowing highly selective and sensitive detection in the fields of: environmental monitoring, bio-medicine, industrial process control and health and safety. Lancaster University has developed unique knowledge and capability in epitaxy and fabrication of MIR materials and devices. The next stage is to directly address the challenges in scaling up the existing technology for commercialization. The aim of this project is to develop Antimonide based photonic materials and devices in partnership with Gas Sensing Solutions (GSS) for future MIR sensors.