Theoretical and experimental study of threshold characteristics in InGaAsP/InP DH lasers

Threshold characteristics of stripe-geometry InGaAsP/InP double-heterostructure injection lasers have been analytically derived as a function of active layer thickness and stripe width. The effects of stripe width, refractive index in the active layer, diffusion of injected carriers, carrier lifetime, absorption loss in the cladding layer, gain coefficient, and cavity length on the optimum thickness of the active layer which gives minimum threshold or on threshold current density were studied. These lasers were fabricated on     

LPE growth of 1.3 ?m InGaAsP CW lasers on (110) InP substrates

Room temperature CW operation and threshold current densities below 1000 A/cm2 have been achieved near 1.3 ?m wavelength with InP/InGaAsP/InP DH lasers grown by liquid phase epitaxy on (110)-oriented InP substrates.     

Temperature dependence of the lasing characteristics of the 1.3 µm InGaAsP-InP and GaAs-Al0.36Ga0.64As DH lasers

We report here our experimental observations on the temperature dependence of threshold current, carrier lifetime at threshold, external differential quantum efficiency, and gain of both the 1.3 μm InGaAsP-InP and GaAs-AlGaAs double heterostructure (DH) lasers. We find that the gain decreases much faster with increasing temperature for a 1.3 μm InGaAsP DH laser than for a GaAs DH laser. Measurements of the spontaneous emission observed through the substrate shows that the emission is sublinear with injection current at high temperatures for the 1.3 μm InGaAsP DH laser. Such sublinearity is not observed for GaAs DH lasers in the entire temperature range 115-350 K. The experimental results are discussed with reference to the various mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the observed temperature dependence of threshold of InGaAsP DH lasers. We find that inclusion of a calculated nonradiative Auger recombination rate can explain the observed temperature dependence of threshold current, carder lifetime at threshold, gain, and also the sublinearity of the spontaneous emission with injection current of the 1.3 μm InGaAsP-InP DH laser. Measurement of the nonradiative component of the carrier lifetime (τA) as a function of injected carrier density (n) shows thattau_{A}^{-1} sim n^{2.1}which is characteristic of an Auger process.     

Carrier loss resulting from Auger recombination in InGaAsP/InP double heterojunction laser diodes: Spectroscopy of 950 nm high energy emission

From 1.3 μm stripe InGaAsP/InP DH lasers, we observed a 950 nm emission band which originates from band-to-band recombination in InP confinement layers. This experimental result can be well explained by considering the overflow of injected carriers from InGaAsP into InP. The overflowed energetic carriers were created by Auger recombination in InGaAsP.     

Gain and carrier lifetime measurements in AlGaAs multiquantum well lasers

We have measured the gain and the carrier lifetime at threshold in shallow proton stripe AlGaAs multiquantum well lasers with several different active layer structures. The lasers studied had active layers with two wells, four wells, six wells, and the modified multiquantum well. The net gainGis found to vary almost linearly with the injection currentIfor all the laser structures studied. The slopedG/dIis largest for the modified multiquantum well (MMQW) laser which is consistent with the observed lowest threshold current of these devices. We find that the carrier density at threshold for the MMQW laser is about a factor of 4 lower than that for a single quantum well laser. Thus, the effect of a nonradiative mechanism (e.g., Auger effect) which varies superlinearly with the injected carrier density is considerably reduced in MMQW lasers compared to that in single quantum well (SQW) lasers or the conventional double heterostructure lasers. The reduced threshold carrier density of the MMQW lasers has important implications for high temperature performance of lasers fabricated from the InGaAsP/InP material systems which are believed to have nonradiative mechanisms that vary superlinearly with carrier density, particularly for those laser structures for which the high temperature operation is not limited by leakage current.     

Saturation of light-current characteristics of high-power laser diodes (λ = 1.0–1.8 μm) under pulse operation

Spectral and light-current characteristics of separate-confinement lasers that are based on InAl-GaAs/InP and InGaAsP/InP alloys and emit in the wavelength range of 1.5–1.8 μm are studied at high excitation levels (up to 80 kA/cm²) in pulse operation (100 ns, 10 kHz). It is shown that the peak intensity in the stimulated-emission spectrum saturates as the pump current is increased. Further increase in the emitted power is attained owing to the emission-spectrum broadening to shorter wavelengths, similar to lasers on the GaAs substrates (λ = 1.04 μm). It is established experimentally that the broadening of the stimulated-emission spectrum to shorter wavelengths is caused by an increase in the threshold current and by an increase in the charge-carrier concentration in the active region. This concentration increases by a factor of 6–7 beyond the lasing threshold and can be as high as 10¹⁹ cm^?3 in pulse operation. It is shown that saturation of the light-current characteristics in pulse operation takes place in the InAlGaAs/InP and InGaAsP/InP lasers as the pump current is increased. It is shown experimentally that there is a correlation between saturation of the light-current characteristic and an increase in the threshold current in the active region. An increase in the charge-carrier concentration and gradual filling of the active region and waveguide layers with electrons are observed as the pump current is increased; stimulated emission from the waveguide is observed at high pump currents.     

Influences of interfacial recombination on oscillation characteristics of InGaAsP/InP DH lasers

This paper presents the influences of interfacial recombination on the oscillation characteristics of InGaAsP/InP DH lasers. The effects of interfacial recombination at the two InP-InGaAsP interfaces, and a theoretical study of the oscillation characteristics such as threshold current density and differential quantum efficiency are discussed and compared with experimental results. The effects of interfacial recombination on the temperature dependence of threshold current are also examined.     

Bistable operation in semiconductor lasers with inhomogeneous excitation

Bistable operation in InP/InGaAsP/InP DH lasers with a periodic excitation stripe geometry is reported. Bistability is observed within a current range of about 10% of the threshold current for maximum value. The range strongly depends on the stripe geometry and heat sink temperature, and they are controllable.     

Low-threshold current density InGaAsP/InP injection lasers with three-layer-waveguide double heterostructure (jth?0.5 kA/cm2 at 300 K)

Double heterostructure InGaAsP/InP lasers with a three-layer waveguide (or `separate-confinement? DH) have been prepared by the LPE method with a thin active layer. A decrease in threshold current density has been observed up to 512 A/cm2 in a four-sided cleaved diode at room temperature. CW operation of broad-area diodes is obtained in the pumping current range up to 2.5 A. Calculations of threshold current density for these laser structures are presented.     

Characteristics of diffused-stripe InP/InGaAsP/InP lasers emitting around 1.55 µm

Fabrication and lasing characteristics of InGaAsP/InP lasers emitting around 1.55 μm are described. Zn-diffused stripe-geometry lasers with emission wavelengths in the1.53-1.60mum range were fabricated from InP/InGaAsP/InP DH epitaxial wafers prepared by a low temperature LPE technique. The dependence of the lasing charaeteristics on the stripe width was examined. The lowest threshold current (≃160 mA under CW operation at 27°C) was obtained for a laser with a 13 μm stripe. CW operation of the laser has been achieved at a heat-sink temperature as high as 53°C. For sufficiently narrow stripe widths (simeq6 mum), fundamental-transverse mode and single-longitudinal mode operation was obtained under CW operation. Moreover, the lasers have good high-frequency performance. The lasers showed excellent dynamic properties without waveform distortion under high-frequency (800 Mbits/s) large-signal pulse modulation. The full width at half maximum of the longitudinal mode envelope was approximately 30 Å at 800 Mbits/s.     

Direct observation of the spatial hole burning and the saturation of the spontaneous emission in InGaAsP/InP lasers

The saturation behavior of the spontaneous emission intensity from a diffused-stripe InGaAsP/InP laser is studied. In InGaAsP/ InP DH lasers, a spontaneous emission can be observed through the InP substrate without any optical loss. The spatial distribution and the spectrum of the emission were directly observed from the substrate surface. The spatial hole burning was observed in the wider stripe lasers but in the case of narrow stripe lasers, the spontaneous emission almost uniformly saturates. The spectrum of the emission from the center of the narrow stripe lasers was analyzed and it was confirmed that, above the threshold current, the spectra in the lasing region saturated over the entire spectral region.     

Interband Auger recombination in InGaAsP

The interband Auger recombination lifetimes of two Auger processes have been calculated to correlate measured threshold current densities and carrier lifetimes for InGaAsP and InGaAsSb lasers. Good aggreement with experimental data was obtained for lasers with low nominal threshold current densities. These results demonstrate the importance of Auger recombination in the threshold characteristics of InGaAsP/InP lasers.     

1．55μm InGaAsP／InPDH激光器中的0．95μm发光带与Auger复合

报道了在１．５５μｍＩｎＧａＡｓＰ／ＩｎＰ激光器中发现的０．９５μｍ波长高能发光峰的一系列实验结果，并通过分析肯定了ＩｎＧａＡｓＰ有源区的Ａｕｓｅｒ复合是造成载流子向两侧ＩｎＰ限制层漏泄的主要原因，也是影响１．５５μｍＩｎＧａＡｓＰ／ＩｎＰＤＨ激光器Ｔ０值的主要因素。     

Current-injection efficiency in semiconductor lasers with a waveguide based on quantum wells

A dynamic distributed diffusion-drift model of laser heterostructures, which takes into account carrier capture by quantum wells, is developed. The leakage currents in the lasing mode are calculated for different laser structures without wide-gap emitters: InGaAs/GaAs (lasing wavelength λ = 0.98 μm), InGaAsP/InP (λ = 1.3 μm), and InGaAs/InP (λ = 1.55 μm). It is shown that consideration of the finite carrier-capture time is of major importance for calculating structures with deep quantum wells. The ratio of the leakage currents to the total current in the structures with deep quantum wells (InGaAsP/InP and InGaAs/InP) increases with an increase in the injection current and may reach a few percent when the lasing threshold is multiply exceeded.     

Dual wavelength InGaAsP/Inp TJS lasers

InGaAsP/InP dual wavelength TJS lasers emitting at 1.17 ?m and 1.3 ?m wavelengths at room temperature are described. The threshold currents for both diodes are the same. The fabrication procedure and characteristics of the lasers are presented.     

Low-temperature sensitive, compressively strained InGaAsP active(λ=0.78-0.85 μm) region diode lasers

This letter reports comparative studies between (Al)GaAs versus InGaAsP active region edge-emitting semiconductor lasers for emission wavelength in the IR regime (λ=0.78-0.85 μm). High characteristic temperature T₀(200 K) and T₁ (450 K) edge-emitting diode lasers have been demonstrated by using the compressively strained (Δa/a=0,6%) Al-free (InGaAsP) active region with an emission wavelength of 0.85 μm. The high T₀ and T ₁ a result of low active-layer carrier leakage, will be beneficial for high-temperature and high-power operation. Implementation for InGaAsP-active VCSEL's with compressively strained InGaAsP-active layers and conventional DBR's is also discussed     

Temperature characteristics of double-carrier-confinement (DCC) heterojunction InGaAsP(λ = 1.3 µm)/InP lasers

This paper reports on a detailed study of the oscillation characteristics of double-carrier-confinement (DCC) heterojunction InGaAsP(lambda = 1.3 mum)/InP lasers, with special emphasis on their temperature characteristics. In addition to conventional double-heterojunction lasers, these lasers have a p-InGaAsP second active layer sandwiched between the p-InP clad layers. The spectral characteristics below threshold were examined in order to verify electron leakage beyond the hetero-barrier of the p-InP thin clad layer, and to study the contribution of the second active layer to optical gain and laser action. Threshold temperature characteristics were also investigated through an analysis of the heterojunction energy band structure. The results indicate that emission from the second active layer is caused by electron leakage. In order to obtain high temperature stability for these lasers, it is essential that both the first and second active layers contribute to the optical gain spectrum and laser action.     

GaInAs/AlGaInAs DH and MQW lasers with 1.5-1.7 mu m lasing wavelengths grown by atmospheric pressure MOVPE

The first successful growth and fabrication of long wavelength (1.5-1.7 mu m) DH and MQW lasers by atmospheric pressure MOVPE in a 'phosphorus-free' material system is reported. The GaInAs/AlGaInAs DH and MQW lasers were grown on InP substrates. DH lasers emitting at around 1690 nm exhibit threshold current densities down to 2.8 kA/cm/sup 2/ at 25 degrees C; the characteristic temperature is 50 K in the 15-55 degrees C range. First MQW lasers with 1565 nm emission wavelength have threshold current densities around 3.2 kA/cm/sup 2/.<>     

InGaAs/InGaAlAs MQW lasers with InGaAsP guiding layers grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

An InGaAs/InGaAlAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) laser was grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy (GS-MBE). The laser has InP cladding layers and InGaAsP guiding layers, and the active layer is composed of an InGaAs/InGaAlAs MQW layer. Electrons are injected into the MQW active layer by tunneling through the barriers. The threshold current of the InGaAs/InAlAs buried-heterostructure (BH)-MQW lasers was as low as 9.6 mA. The relaxation oscillation frequency of the InGaAs/InAlAs MQW lasers was found to be larger than that of the InGaAs/InGaAsP MQW lasers with the same structure.<>     

Two-dimensional simulation of constricted-mesa InGaAsP/InPburied-heterostructure lasers

A fully two-dimensional self-consistent numerical model of the steady-state behavior of 1.3 μm constricted-mesa InGaAsP/InP buried-heterostructure lasers is presented. Devices operating at this wavelength are very temperature sensitive and therefore the model for the first time includes coupled solutions to the thermal as well as the electrical and optical equation sets. The temperature dependence is included in the Fermi-Dirac statistics, bandgaps, mobilities, densities of states, Auger recombination coefficients, intervalence band absorption, optical gain, and thermal conductivities. The lasing mode profiles, carrier distributions, threshold currents, and temperature characteristics are analyzed and good agreement is found with experimental results, including the temperature dependence of the threshold current and the prediction of a break-point temperature. The optimum design parameters are investigated for reduced threshold currents, and the effect of optical loss in the blocking regions on lateral-mode control is analyzed