Equilateral-triangle-resonator injection lasers with directional emission

Equilateral-triangle-resonator (ETR) lasers with an output waveguide jointed at one vertex of the resonator are fabricated on (100) GaInAsP-InP wafers using photolithography and a two-step inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching technique. Distinct peaks with the mode spacing of longitudinal mode intervals are observed in the luminescence spectra at room temperature. Furthermore, some minor peaks appear in the middle of the main peaks, which can be attributed to the first-order transverse modes as predicted in the theoretical results. CW directional lasing emissions are achieved for ETR lasers with side lengths ranging from 15 to 30 pm up to 200 K. The temperature dependences of the threshold current and lasing wavelength are measured for an ETR laser with the side length of 20 mu m from 80 to 200 K. The observed threshold current rapidly increases as temperature increases over 170 K.

Fabrication of ultra-low density and long-wavelength emission InAs quantum dots

By optimizing the molecular beam epitaxy growth conditions of self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs), we obtained an ultra-low density system of InAs QDs (4 x 10(6)cm(-2)). Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy reveals the emission wavelength at room temperature to be longer than 1300 nm with a GaAs capping layer. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metamorphic InGaAs quantum wells for light emission at 1.3-1.6 mu m

Metamorphic InGaAs quantum well structures grown on GaAs reveal strong light emission at 1.3-1.6 mu m, smooth surface with an average roughness below 2 nm. and good rectifying I-V characteristics. Dark line defects are found in the QW Post growth thermal annealing further improves the luminescence efficiency but does not remove those dark line defects. Some challenges of epitaxial growth using this method for laser applications are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on the emission properties of highly uniform self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots emitting at 1.3 mu m

The authors report the effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the emission properties of highly uniform self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) emitting at 1.3 mu m grown on GaAs substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Postgrowth RTA experiments were performed under N-2 flow at temperatures ranging from 600 to 900 degrees C for 30 s using GaAs proximity capping. Surprisingly, in spite of the capping, large blueshifts in the emission peak (up to about 380 meV at 850 degrees C) were observed (even at low annealing temperatures) along with enhanced integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensities. Moreover, pronounced peak broadenings occurred at low annealing temperatures (< 700 degrees C), indicating that RTA does not always cause peak narrowing, as is typically observed with traditional QDs with large inhomogeneous PL linewidths. The mechanism behind the large peak blueshift was studied and found to be attributed to the as-grown QDs with large size, which cause a larger dot-barrier interface and greater strain in and near the QD regions, thereby greatly promoting Ga-In intermixing across the interface during RTA. The results reported here demonstrate that it is possible to significantly shift the emission peak of the QDs by RTA without any additional procedures, even at lower annealing temperatures. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Improved field emission properties from metal-coated diamond films

Diamond films were prepared by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MWPCVD). In order to obtain better field emission properties, the samples coated with different metals were prepared. The results showed that the field emission properties of diamond coated with metals could be greatly improved in comparison to pure diamond film and the different kinds of coated metals have different influences on the field emission properties. The possible reasons of effects on the field emission properties are discussed, which were probably due to the reduced effective surface work function by metal coatings; but the detail of the mechanism should be studied further. The surface morphology and microstructure of the sample were characterized by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectrum tests. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous Q switching and mode locking with narrow envelope width in a microchip Nd : YVO4 laser with a composite semiconductor absorber

By using a composite semiconductor absorber and an output coupler, we demonstrated a Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped microchip Nd:YVO4 laser. With a 350-mu m-thick crystal, the width of the Q-switched envelope was as short as 12 ns; the repetition rate of the mode-locked pulses inside the Q-switched pulse was more than 10 GHz. The average output power was 335 mW at a maximum pump power of 1.6 W. Q-switched envelope widths of 21 and 31 ns were also achieved with crystals 0.7 and 1.0 mm thick, respectively.

Effect of an indium-doped barrier on enhanced near-ultraviolet emission from InGaN/AlGaN: In multiple quantum wells grown on Si(111)

Low indium content InGaN/AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) have been grown on Si(111) substrate by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). A new method of using an isoelectronic indium-doped AlGaN barrier has been found to be very effective in improving the crystalline quality and interfacial abruptness of InGaN quantum well layers. We grew five periods of In0.06Ga0.94N/Al0.20Ga0.80N:In MQWs with In-doped barrier layers and obtained strong near-ultraviolet (UV) emission (similar to 400 nm) at room temperature. An In-doped AlGaN barrier improves the room-temperature PL intensity of InGaN/AlGaN MQWs, making it a candidate barrier for a near-UV source on Si substrate.

Pressure behaviour of the UV and green emission bands in ZnO micro-rods

The pressure behavior of the ultraviolet (UV) and green emission bands in ZnO tetrapod-like micro-rods has been investigated at 300 and 70 K, respectively. The pressure coefficient of the UV band at 300 K is 24.5 meV/GPa, consistent with that of the band gap of bulk ZnO. However, the pressure coefficient of the green band is 25 meV/GPa, far larger than previous literature reports. The green band in this work originates from Cu-related emission, as confirmed by the fine structure observed in the spectra at 10 K. The pressure coefficients of four phonon replicas of the free exciton emission (FX) at 70 K are 21.0, 20.2, 19.8, and 19.3 meV/GPa, respectively. The energy shift rate of the FX emission and the LO phonon energies is then determined to be 21.4 and 0.55 meV/GPa. The pressure coefficient of the neutral donor bound exciton ((DX)-X-0) transition is 20.5 meV/GPa, only 4% smaller than that of FX. This confirms that the (DX)-X-0 emission corresponds to excitons bound to neutral shallow donors. (C) 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

ZnO thin films on Si(111) grown by pulsed laser deposition from metallic Zn target

ZnO thin films with highly c-axis orientation have been fabricated on p-type Si(1 1 1) substrates at 400 degrees C by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from a metallic Zn target with oxygen pressures between 0.1 and 0.7 mbar. Experimental results indicate that the films deposited at 0.3 and 0.5 mbar have better crystalline and optical quality and flatter surfaces than the films prepared at other pressures. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of (0 0 0 2) diffraction peak decreases remarkably from 0.46 to 0.19 degrees with increasing annealing temperature for the film prepared at 0.3 mbar. In photoluminescence (PL) spectra at room temperature, the annealed film at 700 degrees C exhibits a smaller ultraviolet (UV) peak FWHM of 108 meV than the as-grown film (119 meV). However, an enhanced deep-level emission is observed. Possible origins to above results are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MBE InAs quantum dots grown on metamorphic InGaAs for long wavelength emitting

GaAs-based InAs quantum dots using InGaAs composition-graded metamorphic layers have been investigated by molecular beam epitaxy. Emission with the wavelength similar to 1.5 mu m from the dots was obtained at room temperature with the relatively large full width at half maximum. The emission wavelength is relatively stable when subjected to fast annealing. The number density of dots reached similar to 6 x 10(10) cm(-2). Undulated morphology was observed on the surface of the sample, which has some influence on the dot size and distribution. In epilayers, misfit dislocations were confined within the step-graded InGaAs metamorphic buffer layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of substrate temperature on the growth and photoluminescence properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanostructures

Vertically well-aligned ZnO nanoridge, nanorod, nanorod-nanowall junction, and nanotip arrays have been successfully synthesized on Si (100) substrates using a pulsed laser deposition prepared ZnO film as seed layer by thermal evaporation method. Experimental results illustrated that the growth of different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures was strongly dependent upon substrate temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies showed that the ZnO nanostructures were single crystals with a wurtzite structure. Compared with those of the other nanostructures, the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of nanorod-nanowall junctions showed the largest intensity ratio of ultraviolet (UV) to yellow-green emission and the smallest full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the UV peak, reflecting the high optical quality and nearly defect free of crystal structure. The vertical alignment of the nanowire array on the substrate is attributed to the epitaxial growth of the nanostructures from the ZnO buffer layer. The growth mechanism was also discussed in detail. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature and pressure dependences of the copper-related green emission in ZnO microrods

We have investigated the temperature and pressure dependences of the copper-related green emission, which show fine structure at low temperature, from tetrapodlike ZnO microrods. The temperature dependence of the green emission energy follows the changes in the band gap from 10-200 K, but deviates from this behavior above 200 K. The pressure dependence of the copper-related green band (25 +/- 5 meV/GPa) is similar to that of the band gap of ZnO, and is larger than that reported previously for defect-related green emission in ZnO. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

High-power and low-threshold-current-density GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade lasers

We report on the realization of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade lasers with an emission wavelength of 9.1 mu m above the liquid nitrogen temperature. With optimal current injection window and ridge width of 24 and 60 mu m respectively, a peak output power more than 500 mW is achieved in pulsed mode operation. A low threshold current density J(th) = 2.6 kA/cm(2) gives the devices good lasing characteristics. In a drive frequency of 1 kHz, the laser operates up to 20% duty cycle.

Efficiently producing single-walled carbon nanotube rings and investigation of their field emission properties

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) rings with a diameter of about 100 nm have been prepared by thermally decomposing hydrocarbon in a floating catalyst system. These rings appeared to consist mostly of SWNT toroids. High resolution transmission electron microscopy showed that these rings were composed of tens of SWNTs with a tightly packed arrangement. The production of SWNT rings was improved through optimizing various growth parameters, such as growth temperature, sublimation temperature of the catalyst, different gas flows and different catalyst components. The growth mechanism of the SWNT rings is discussed. In the field emission measurements we found that field emission from a halved ring is better than that from a whole SWNT ring, which contributed to the better emission from two opened ends of the nanotubes of the halved SWNT ring.