Evidence for large monomolecular recombination contribution tothreshold current in 1.3 μm GaInNAs semiconductor lasers

The spontaneous emission, L, through a window in the substrate electrode of 1.3 μm GaInNAs MQW lasers was studied as a function of current, I, and temperature, T Close to room temperature, a characteristic temperature at threshold T,(L) T was observed as expected for band-to-band recombination in ideal quantum well devices. However, T ₀(I_th)≃T/3 indicating other processes occur. Analysis of the variation of L with I, reveals that monomolecular recombination contributes more than 50% to the total current at threshold and also that some Auger recombination may be present