Effect of internal optical losses on the generation of mid-IR stimulated emission in waveguide heterostructures with HgCdTe/CdHgTe quantum wells

Two waveguide heterostructures with an array of 10 HgCdTe/CdHgTe quantum wells grown within a single technological series and designed to generate stimulated emission near 20 and 30 $\mu$m are studied. At a temperature of 10 K, stimulated emission in the “short-wavelength” structure is obtained at a wavelength of $\sim$ 23.9 $\mu$m, while in the “long-wavelength” structure stimulated emission is not observed. Calculations of optical absorption in the passive layers for both structures are carried out and it is demonstrated that its level is higher in the long-wavelength structure. Approaches are proposed to minimize its effect on the generation of stimulated emission.