Antimonide- based type-II interband cascade diode lasers are rapidly becoming a viable technology for both in situ sensing and high-power laser applications in the 3-5 μ m range. Recently, this type of electrically pumped diode laser has been shown at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to operate in continuous wave mode at heat-sink temperatures as high as 212 K near 3.3 μ m and 165 K at 5.4 μ m. In pulsed operation, lasers with emission wavelengths near 3.3 μ m can be operated at temperatures up to the 325 K limit of the measurement cryostat. Careful optimization of the growth conditions of the laser cascade and optical cladding regions must take place in order to achieve the high degree of crystalline quality necessary for optimum device performance. Published by Elsevier B.V.