High-power and long-lifetime InAs/GaAs quantum-dot laser at 1080 nm

High power and long lifetime have been demonstrated for a semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) laser with five-stacked InAs/GaAs QDs separated by an InGaAs strain-reducing layer (SRL) and a GaAs spacer layer as an active medium. The QD lasers exhibit a peak power of 3.6 W at 1080 nm, a quantum slope efficiency of 84.6%, and an output-power degradation rate of 5.6%/1000 h with continuous-wave constant-current operation at room temperature. A comparative reliability investigation indicates that the lifetime of the InAs/GaAs QD laser with the InGaAs SRL is much longer than that of a QD laser without the InGaAs SRL. This improved lifetime of the QD laser could be explained by the reduction of strain in and around InAs QDs induced by the InGaAs SRL. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Exciton energy of the InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dot in a semiconductor microcavity

We report on the theoretical study of the interaction of the quantum dot (QD) exciton with the photon waveguide models in a semiconductor microcavity. The InAs/GaAs self-assembled QD exciton energies are calculated in a microcavity. The calculated results reveal that the electromagnetic field reduces the exciton energies in a semiconductor microcavity. The effect of the electromagnetic field decreases as the radius of the QD increases. Our calculated results are useful for designing and fabricating photoelectron devices.

Quantum-confined Stark effects of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dot

Quantum-confined Stark effects in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots are investigated theoretically in the framework of effective-mass envelope function theory. The electron and hole energy levels and optical transition energies are calculated in the presence of perpendicular and parallel electric field. In our calculation, the effect of finite offset, valence band mixing, and strain are all taken into account. The results show that the perpendicular electric field weakly affects the electron ground state and hole energy levels. The energy levels are affected strongly by the parallel electric field. For the electron, the energy difference between the ground state and the first excited state decreases as electric field increases. The optical transition energies have clear redshifts in electric field. The theoretical results agree well with the available experimental data. Our calculated results are useful for the application of quantum dots to photoelectric devices. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)11001-7].

X-ray diffraction and optical characterization of interdiffusion in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum-dot superlattices

We report on the characterization of thermally induced interdiffusion in InAs/GaAs quantum-dot superlattices with high-resolution x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence techniques. The dynamical theory is employed to simulate the measured x-ray diffraction rocking curves of the InAs/GaAs quantum-dot superlattices annealed at different temperatures. Excellent agreement between the experimental curves and the simulations is achieved when the composition, thickness, and stress variations caused by interdiffusion are taken in account. It is found that the significant In-Ga intermixing occurs even in the as-grown InAs/GaAs quantum dots. The diffusion coefficients at different temperatures are estimated. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)02440-2].

Self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots and quantum dot laser

Systematic study of molecular beam epitaxy-grown self-assembled In(Ga)As/GaAs, In-AlAs/AlGaAs/GaAs, and InAs/InAlAs/InP quantum dots (QDs) is demonstrated. By adjusting growth conditions, surprising alignment, preferential elongation, and pronounced sequential coalescence of dots under the specific condition are realized. Room-temperature (RT) continuous-wave (CW) lasing at the wavelength of 960 nm with output power of 1 W is achieved from vertical coupled InAs/GaAs QDs ensemble. The RT threshold current density is 218 A/cm(2). An RT CW output power of 0.53 W ensures at least 3 000 h lasing (only drops 0.83 db). This is one of the best results ever reported.

Material transport in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot ensemble

Introducing the growth interruption between the InAs deposition and subsequent GaAs growth in self-assembled quantum dot (QD) structures, the material transport process in the InAs layers has been investigated by photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurement. InAs material in structures without misfit dislocations transfers from the wetting layer to QDs corresponding to the red-shift of PL peak energy due to interruption. On the other hand, the PL peak shifts to higher energy in the structures with dislocations. In this case, the misfit dislocations would capture the InAs material from the surrounding wetting layer and coherent islands leading to the reduction of the size of these QDs. The variations in the PL intensity and Linewidth are also discussed.

Annealing behavior of InAs/GaAs quantum dot structures

We investigate the annealing behavior of InAs layers with different thicknesses in a GaAs matrix. The diffusion enhancement by strain, which is well established in strained quantum wells, occurs in InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). A shift of the QD luminescence peak toward higher energies results from this enhanced diffusion. In the case of structures where a significant portion of the strain is relaxed by dislocations, the interdiffusion becomes negligible, and there is a propensity to generate additional dislocations. This results in a decrease of the QD luminescence intensity, and the QD peak energy is weakly affected.

Theoretical analysis of modal gain in p-doped 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers

A theoretical study of modal gain in p-doped 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers is presented. The expression of modal gain is derived, which includes an effective ratio that describes how many QDs contribute to the modal gain. The calculated results indicate that the modal gain with the effective ratio is much smaller than that without the effective ratio. The calculated maximum modal gain is is a good agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, QDs with lower height or smaller aspect ratio are beneficial in achieving a larger maximum modal gain that leads to lower threshold current density and higher differential modal gain. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Evolution of wetting layers in InAs/GaAs quantum-dot system studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy

The wetting layers (WL) in InAs/GaAs quantum-dot system have been studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS), in which two structures related to the heavy-hole (HH) and light-hole (LH) transitions in the WL have been observed. The evolution and segregation behaviors of WL during Stranski-Krastanow (SK) growth mode have been studied from the analysis of the WL-related optical transition energies. It has been found that the segregation coefficient of Indium atoms varies linearly with the InAs amount in WL. In addition, the effect of the growth temperature on the critical thickness for InAs island formation has also been studied. The critical thickness defined by the appearance of InAs dots, which is determined by AFM, shows a complex variation with the growth temperature. However, the critical thickness determined by RDS is almost constant in the range of 510-540 degrees C.

Large-Signal Performance of 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum-dot lasers

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A broadband external cavity tunable InAs/GaAs quantum dot laser by utilizing only the ground state emission

A broadband external cavity tunable laser is realized by using a broad-emitting spectral InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) gain device. A tuning range of 69 nm with a central wavelength of 1056 nm, is achieved at a bias of 1.25 kA/cm(2) only by utilizing the light emission from the ground state of QDs. This large tunable range only covers the QD ground-state emission and is related to the inhomogeneous size distribution of QDs. No excited state contributes to the tuning bandwidth. The application of the QD gain device to the external cavity tunable laser shows its immense potential in broadening the tuning bandwidth. By the external cavity feedback, the threshold current density can be reduced remarkably compared with the free-running QD gain device.

Temperature-dependent modulation characteristics for 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers

Temperature-dependent modulation characteristics of 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers under small signals have been carefully studied at various bias currents. Based on experimental observations, it is found that the modulation bandwidth significantly increases when excited state (ES) lasing emerges at high temperature. This is attributed to additional photons emitted by ES lasing which contribute to the modulation response. A rate equation model including two discrete electron energy levels and the level of wetting layer has been used to investigate the temperature-dependent dynamic behavior of the QD lasers. Numerical investigations confirm that the significant jump for the small signal modulation response is indeed caused by ES photons. Furthermore, we identify how the electron occupation probabilities of the two discrete energy levels can influence the photon density of different states and finally the modulation rate. Both experiments and numerical analysis show that the modulation bandwidth of QD lasers at high temperature can be increased by injecting more carriers into the ES that has larger electron state degeneracy and faster carrier's relaxation time than the ground state.

High Characteristic Temperature 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Lasers Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

We report the molecular beam epitaxy growth of 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum-dot (QD) lasers with high characteristic temperature T-0. The active region of the lasers consists of five-layer InAs QDs with p-type modulation doping. Devices with a stripe width of 4 mu m and a cavity length of 1200 mu m are fabricated and tested in the pulsed regime under different temperatures. It is found that T-0 of the QD lasers is as high as 532K in the temperature range from 10 degrees C to 60 degrees C. In addition, the aging test for the lasers under continuous wave operation at 100 degrees C for 72 h shows almost no degradation, indicating the high crystal quality of the devices.

Self-heating effect in 1.3 mu m p-doped InAs/GaAs quantum dot vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

The self-heating effect in 1.3 mu m p-doped InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) has been investigated using a self-consistent theoretical model. Good agreement is obtained between theoretical analysis and experimental results under pulsed operation. The results show that in p-doped QD VCSELs, the output power is significantly influenced by self-heating. About 60% of output power is limited by self-heating in a device with oxide aperture of 5x6 mu m(2). This value reduces to 55% and 48%, respectively, as the oxide aperture increases to 7x8 and 15x15 mu m(2). The temperature increase in the active region and injection efficiency of the QDs are calculated and discussed based on the different oxide aperture areas and duty cycle.

Delay of the excited state lasing of 1310 nm InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers by facet coating

In this letter, we present a facet coating design to delay the excited state (ES) lasing for 1310 nm InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers. The key point of our design is to ensure that the mirror loss of ES is larger than that of the ground state by decreasing the reflectivity of the ES. In the facet coating design, the central wavelength is at 1480 nm, and the high- and low-index materials are Ta2O5 and SiO2, respectively. Compared with the traditional Si/SiO2 facet coating with a central wavelength of 1310 nm, we have found that with the optimal design the turning temperature of the ES lasing has been delayed from 90 to 100 degrees C for the laser diodes with cavity length of 1.2 mm. Furthermore, the characteristic temperature (T-0) of the laser diodes is also improved.