Amplified spontaneous emission spectroscopy in strainedquantum-well lasers

Amplified spontaneous emission spectroscopy is used to extract the gain and refractive index spectra systematically. We obtain the gain and differential gain spectra using the Hakki-Paoli method. The refractive index profile, the induced change in refractive index by an incremental current, and the linewidth enhancement factor are measured from the Fabry-Perot peaks and the current-induced peak shifts in the amplified spontaneous emission spectra. The measured optical gain and refractive index are then compared with our theoretical model for strained quantum-well lasers. We show that a complete theoretical model for calculating the electronic band structure, the optical constant, and the linewidth enhancement factor agrees very well with the experiment. Our approach demonstrates that amplified spontaneous emission spectroscopy can be a good diagnostic tool to characterize laser diodes, extract the optical gain and index profiles, and confirm material parameters such as the strained quantum-well band structure parameters for a semiconductor structure under carrier injection     

FDTD simulation of the nonlinear gain dynamics in active optical waveguides and semiconductor microcavities

We use the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solution of the full-wave vectorial Maxwell-Bloch equations for a two-level quantum system developed earlier , to investigate the nonlinear gain spatio-temporal dynamics of active optical waveguides and semiconductor microcavities. The numerical model has been successfully validated against density matrix theory of gain saturation in homogeneously broadened two-level quantum systems for optical waveguides containing resonant gain nonlinearities. The semiclassical equations have been extended employing the Langevin formalism to account for the quantum noise and the spontaneous emission. We have numerically demonstrated the time evolution of the coherent oscillations build up at the output laser facet identifying the lasing threshold and the fast relaxation oscillations until the settlement of a steady-state emission. Our simulation predictions of the lasing wavelength in a number of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser geometries, when the spontaneous emission is the only source of radiation, agree very well with standard results and, thus, allow us to infer and subsequently optimize important emission characteristics, such as the spontaneous emission rate, the laser line shape, and the relaxation oscillation frequencies and decay rates.     

Longitudinal spatial inhomogeneities in high-power semiconductorlasers

We study the spatial distribution of the temperature, gain, and carrier density along the longitudinal direction of a semiconductor laser cavity. In high-power laser diodes, the use of asymmetrical facet reflectivities creates a spatially nonuniform photon intensity profile and results in inhomogeneous temperature and carrier distributions along the active stripe. These profiles are determined from direct measurements of blackbody radiation and the spontaneous emission from the laser cavity. The temperature of the active stripe is observed to be significantly higher than that of the heat sink during lasing, and the effect of temperature on the modal gain spectrum is analyzed. We demonstrate that the local carrier density and optical gain within a laser are not pinned beyond threshold. A spatially inhomogeneous gain profile is possible in laser cavities as long as the threshold condition that the averaged round-trip gain equals the total losses is maintained. A theoretical model is presented which explains the observed experimental data     

Characterization of semiconductor laser gain media by the segmented contact method

In this paper, we describe methods for analysis of edge-emitted amplified spontaneous emission spectra measured as a function of the pumped stripe length. We show that both the modal gain and the unamplified spontaneous emission spectra can be extracted from the data, and we describe a means of calibrating the spontaneous emission in real units, without requiring the carrier populations to be described by Fermi functions. The gain and emission spectra can be determined for transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations and by summing the recombination currents for each polarization the total radiative current can be measured. This enables the overall internal radiative quantum efficiency to be calculated. Once the calibration factor is known the internal stimulated recombination rate at the facet can also be estimated. The experiment can be configured to give a measurement of the passive modal absorption of the gain medium. The internal optical mode loss can be determined from the long-wavelength region of the gain spectrum or the modal absorption spectrum. In summary, we show that measurements of amplified spontaneous emission spectra provide a full characterization of the gain medium.     

Universal properties of random lasers

The design and fabrication of laser resonators is often difficult. However, random lasers occur in gain media with numerous scatterers and produce coherent laser emission without any predesigned cavity. The generation of coherent emission from multiple scattering is quite general and its basic principles are shown here using two model systems, namely /spl pi/-conjugated polymer films and rhodamine-TiO/sub 2/ suspensions. Above a threshold excitation intensity, both systems show narrow emission lines (<0.5 nm), coherence that is determined by photon statistics, and a fundamental cavity length in the disordered material that is revealed by averaging multiple power Fourier transform spectra.     

Theoretical and experimental analysis of 1.3-/spl mu/m InGaAsN/GaAs lasers

We present a comprehensive theoretical and experimental analysis of 1.3-/spl mu/m InGaAsN/GaAs lasers. After introducing the 10-band k /spl middot/ p Hamiltonian which predicts transition energies observed experimentally, we employ it to investigate laser properties of ideal and real InGaAsN/GaAs laser devices. Our calculations show that the addition of N reduces the peak gain and differential gain at fixed carrier density, although the gain saturation value and the peak gain as a function of radiative current density are largely unchanged due to the incorporation of N. The gain characteristics are optimized by including the minimum amount of nitrogen necessary to prevent strain relaxation at the given well thickness. The measured spontaneous emission and gain characteristics of real devices are well described by the theoretical model. Our analysis shows that the threshold current is dominated by nonradiative, defect-related recombination. Elimination of these losses would enable laser characteristics comparable with the best InGaAsP/InP-based lasers with the added advantages provided by the GaAs system that are important for vertical integration.     

InGaAs-GaAs quantum-dot lasers

Quantum-dot (QD) lasers provide superior lasing characteristics compared to quantum-well (QW) and QW wire lasers due to their delta like density of states. Record threshold current densities of 40 A·cm ^-2 at 77 K and of 62 A·cm^-2 at 300 K are obtained while a characteristic temperature of 385 K is maintained up to 300 K. The internal quantum efficiency approaches values of ~80 %. Currently, operating QD lasers show broad-gain spectra with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) up to ~50 meV, ultrahigh material gain of ~10⁵ cm^-1, differential gain of ~10^-13 cm² and strong nonlinear gain effects with a gain compression coefficient of ~10^-16 cm³. The modulation bandwidth is limited by nonlinear gain effects but can be increased by careful choice of the energy difference between QD and barrier states. The linewidth enhancement factor is ~0.5. The InGaAs-GaAs QD emission can be tuned between 0.95 μm and 1.37 μm at 300 K     

Effect of nitrogen on the band structure and material gain of In/sub y/Ga/sub 1-y/As/sub 1-x/N/sub x/-GaAs quantum wells

The conduction subband structure of InGaAsN-GaAs quantum wells (QWs) is calculated using the band anticrossing model, and its influence on the design of long-wavelength InGaAsN-GaAs QW lasers is analyzed. A good agreement with experimental values is found for the QW zone center transition energies. In particular, a different dependence of the effective bandgap with temperature when compared to the equivalent N-free structure is predicted by the model and experimentally observed. A detailed analysis of the conduction subband structure shows that nitrogen strongly decreases the electron energies and increases the effective masses. A very small N incorporation is also found to increase the nonparabolicity, but this effect saturates for higher nitrogen contents. Both the In content and well width decrease the effective masses and nonparabolicity of the conduction subbands. Material gain as a function of the injection level is calculated for InGaAsN-GaAs QWs for moderate carrier densities. The peak gain at a fixed carrier density is found to be reduced, compared to InGaAs, for a small N content, but this reduction tends to saturate when the N content is further increased. For the gain peak energy, a monotonous strong shift to lower energies is obtained for increasing N content, supporting the feasibility of 1.55-/spl mu/m emission from InGaAsN-GaAs QW laser diodes.     

InGaN-based blue laser diodes

The continuous-wave (CW) operation of InGaN multiquantum-well (MQW) structure laser diodes (LDs) was demonstrated at room temperature (RT) with a lifetime of 100 h. The threshold current and the voltage of the LDs were 50 mA and 5 V, respectively. The threshold current density was 8.8 kA/cm². The carrier lifetime and the threshold carrier density were estimated to be 3.5 ns and 1.8×10²⁰/cm³, respectively. The Stokes shift of the energy difference between the absorption and the emission energy of the InGaN MQW LD's were 140 meV. Both spontaneous and stimulated emission of the LD's originated from this deep localized energy state which is equivalent to a quantum dot-like state. From the measurements of gain spectra and an external differential quantum efficiency dependence on the cavity length, the differential gain coefficient, the transparent carrier density, threshold gain and internal loss were estimated to be 5.8×10^-17 cm², 9.3×10 ¹⁹ cm^-3, 5200 cm^-1, and 43 cm^-1 respectively     

Blueshifting of InGaAsP-InP laser diodes using a low-energyion-implantation technique: comparison between strained andlattice-matched quantum-well structures

Blueshifted InGaAsP-InGaAs-InP laser diodes have been fabricated using a technique that includes a low-energy ion implantation, used to generate point defects near the surface of the structure, followed by a thermal anneal which causes the diffusion of these defects through the quantum wells (QWs). This diffusion of point defects induces a local intermixing of atoms in the QWs and barriers, which results in a decrease in the emission wavelength of the devices. Results obtained with strained and lattice-matched QW structures are compared. For lattice-matched structures, electroluminescence wavelength shifts as large as 76 nm were obtained. Strained QW structures presented a much smaller blueshift (≈10 nm). In both cases, we observed no significant change of the threshold current caused by the intermixing process     

Temperature dependent efficiency and modulation characteristics ofAl-free 980-nm laser diodes

Temperature dependent efficiency and modulation characteristics of strained quantum-well (QW) InGaAs-InGaAsP-InGaP 980-nm laser diodes of various designs are analyzed using self consistent carrier transport analysis including stimulated emission. The decrease of the differential efficiency of 980-nm laser diodes with temperature is found to be caused by an increased modal loss attributed to the free carrier (electron and hole) absorption. The obtained results agree well with experimentally observed increase of internal loss at higher temperatures. Modulation characteristics are determined mainly by drift-diffusion in separate confinement region along with processes of carrier capture and escape in QWs. At high temperatures modulation bandwidth is reduced because of the decrease in differential gain. Graded index separate confinement heterostructure and multi-QW lasers show superior efficiency and modulation behavior at high temperatures     

High-performance 1200-nm InGaAs and 1300-nm InGaAsN quantum-well lasers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

In this paper, we present the characteristics of high-performance strain-compensated MOCVD-grown 1200-nm InGaAs and 1300-nm InGaAsN quantum-well (QW) lasers using AsH/sub 3/ and U-Dimethylhydrazine as the group V precursors. The design of the InGaAsN QW active region utilizes an In-content of approximately 40%, which requires only approximately 0.5% N-content to realize emission wavelengths up to 1315-nm. Threshold current densities of only 65-90 A/cm/sup 2/ were realized for InGaAs QW lasers, with emission wavelength of 1170-1233 nm. Room-temperature threshold and transparency current densities of 210 and 75-80 A/cm/sup 2/, respectively, have been realized for InGaAsN QW lasers with emission wavelength of 1300-nm. Despite the utilization of the highly-strained InGaAsN QW, double-QW lasers have been realized with excellent lasing performance.     

Orientation dependence of optical properties in long wavelengthstrained quantum-well lasers

The dependence of optical properties on crystal orientation is analyzed for long wavelength strained quantum-well (QW) GaAsP-InGaAsP lasers. The calculation is based on the multiband effective mass theory which enables us to consider the anisotropy and the nonparabolicity of the valence-band dispersions. It is found that the optical gain increases as the crystal orientation is inclined from (001) toward (110). This is due to the reduced valence-band density of states. The differential gain is about 1.6 times larger for the (110)-oriented 1.55-μm strained QW's than for equivalent (001)-oriented QW's. It is also shown that the threshold current density in 1.3-μm strained QW lasers decreases to two-thirds of that in the (001)-oriented laser as the orientation is inclined away from (001) by 40°-90     

Time-development of transient-carrier temperature, density, andgain spectrum in ultrashort optical pulse excited InGaAsmultiquantum-well laser structure

We present a novel transient gain-spectra measurement method based on the traditional variable pump-stripe technique. Using the pump-stripe technique with ultra-short optical pulse excitation, time-resolved amplified spontaneous emission spectroscopy of an InGaAs-InGaAsP multiquantum-well (MQW) laser structure was measured, and time-development of the transient optical net gain spectra was obtained accordingly. By fitting the measured gain spectra with a model for band-to-band transitions including momentum conservation and an energy- and density-dependent lifetime broadening, dynamics of band filling, carrier density, carrier temperature and bandgap renormalization have been obtained. This opens the possibility to study simultaneously the influence of transient-carrier density and, in particular, transient-carrier temperature on the transient optical gain. Strong gain compression in the whole gain-spectra region due to transient high carrier temperature after ultra-short pulse injection is clearly demonstrated for the first time     

Coulomb enhancement in InGaAs-GaAs quantum-well lasers

It is shown that Coulomb enhancement (CE) has a significant influence on the spectral characteristics of optical gain and spontaneous emission in strained InGaAs quantum wells. CE-modified gain spectra are utilized to make an accurate prediction of the dependence of lasing wavelength on cavity length, Threshold-current predictions using the CE-modified gain-current relation show improved agreement with experiment     

Theoretical analysis of diffused quantum-well lasers and optical amplifiers

Diffused quantum-well (QW) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and optical amplifiers will be theoretically analyzed in this paper. For DFB lasers, a design rule will be proposed and the validity of the design rule will be discussed with respect to changes in the injected carrier density. The range of grating period, which can be used in the design, is discussed. As a consequence, the maximum tuning range of the emission wavelength can be estimated without involving the time-consuming self-consistent simulation. The features of polarization independence of optical amplifiers achieved by using diffused QWs are also discussed. Our theoretical results successfully explain why polarization independence can achieve in the long-wavelength tail of the modal gain and absorption coefficient but not at photon energies above the transition edge. This explanation applies to other tensile-strained QWs for polarization-independent applications. The understanding is crucial for optimizing polarization-independent devices. To conclude, our analysis of the diffused QW optical devices demonstrates that QW intermixing technology is a practical candidate for not only realizing monolithic photonic integrated circuit, but also enhancing optical device performance.     

Room-temperature operation of GaInAsN-GaAs laser diodes in the1.5-μm range

GaInAsN-GaAs double quantum-well (DQW) laser structures emitting in the 1.5-μm range were grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy using a radio frequency plasma source for nitrogen activation. Lasing operation in the 1.5-μm wavelength region has been realized for fabricated ridge waveguide laser diodes (LDs) under pulsed condition up to record high temperatures of 80°C resulting in an emission wavelength of 1540 nm. This is the highest emission wavelength for laser diode operation based on GaAs. In addition, to investigate the optical properties of the active region, photoluminescence studies of underlying GaInAsN-GaAs QW structures emitting at wavelengths up to 1.55 μm are presented     

Design Analysis of Staggered InGaN Quantum Wells Light-Emitting Diodes at 500–540 nm

Staggered InGaN quantum wells (QWs) are analyzed as improved active region for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at 500 nm and 540 nm, respectively. The calculation of band structure is based on a self-consistent 6-band $k{bf cdot}p$ formalism taking into account the valence band mixing, strain effect, and spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations as well as the carrier screening effect. Both two-layer staggered $hbox{In}_{x}hbox{Ga}_{1-x}hbox{N/}hbox{In}_{y}hbox{Ga}_{1-y}hbox{N}$ QW and three-layer staggered $hbox{In}_{y}hbox{Ga}_{1-y}hbox{N/}hbox{In}_{x}hbox{Ga}_{1-x}hbox{N/}hbox{In}_{y}hbox{Ga}_{1-y}hbox{N}$ QW structures are investigated as active region to enhance the spontaneous emission radiative recombination rate ($R_{rm sp}$) for LEDs emitting at 500 nm and 540 nm. Analysis of the spontaneous emission radiative recombination rate ($R_{rm sp}$ ) shows significant enhancement for both two-layer staggered InGaN QW and three-layer staggered InGaN QW, in comparison to that of the conventional $hbox{In}_{z}hbox{Ga}_{1-z}hbox{N}$ QW. The studies of the carrier lifetime indicate a significant reduction of the carrier lifetime for staggered InGaN QWs, which contribute to the enhancement of the radiative efficiency for both two-layer staggered InGaN QW and three-layer staggered InGaN QW LEDs emitting at 500 nm and 540 nm.      

Influences of unconfined states on the optical properties ofquantum-well structures

The population of the unconfined states, with energies above the band edge of the barrier layers, can be significant in some regions of the active volume in high power lasers and amplifiers. This paper analyzes the influences of these states on optical properties, such as gain, refractive index, differential gain, and linewidth enhancement factor, for different quantum-well (QW) structures. Our results show that at high excitation levels, the unconfined band contributions to the real part of the optical susceptibility can be significant, especially in structures with weak quantum confinement potentials. This is in agreement with recent measurements of peak gain and carrier-induced refractive index change versus carrier density, for InGaAs-GaAs QW laser structures     

Gain Measurements of THz Quantum Cascade Lasers using THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy is used to investigate the gain and losses of a THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) operating at 2.86 THz. This measurement technique allows access to the amplitude and phase spectra, allowing the direct determination of the gain. At the emission frequency of the QCL, a value of 6.5 cm^-1 is found. The gain can also be studied as a function of different operating conditions, even when no laser action is present. Effects such as gain clamping and spectral narrowing are also observed. Furthermore, temperature measurements illustrate the reduction of the gain as the temperature is increased.