OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GAAS/ALGAAS RIDGE-QUANTUM-WELL-WIRES GROWN BY MBE ON NONPLANAR SUBSTRATES

With conventional photolithography and wet chemical etching, we have realized GaAs/AlGaAs buried ridge-quantum-well-wires (RQWWs) with vertically stacked wires in lateral arrays promising for device application, which were grown in situ by a single-step molecular beam epitaxy growth and formed at the ridge tops of mesas on nonplanar substrates. Confocal photoluminescence (CPL) and polarization-dependent photoreflectance (PR) are applied to study optical characteristics of RQWWs. Lateral bandgap modulation due to lateral variation of QW layer thickness is demonstrated not only by CPL but also by PR. As one evidence for RQWWs, a large blue shift is observed at the energy level positions for electronic transitions corresponding to quantum wells (QWs) at the ridge tops of mesas compared with those corresponding to QWs on nonpatterned areas of the same sample. The blue shift is in contradiction with the fact that the GaAs QW layers at the tops of the mesas are thicker than those on nonpatterned areas. The other evidence for RQWWs, optical anisotropy is provided by the polarization-dependent PR, which results from lateral quantum size effect existing at the tops of the mesas.

Confinement factor and absorption loss of AlInGaN based laser diodes emitting from ultraviolet to green

Confinement factor and absorption loss of AlInGaN based multiquantum well laser diodes (LDs) were investigated by numerical simulation based on a two-dimensional waveguide model. The simulation results indicate that an increased ridge height of the waveguide structure can enhance the lateral optical confinement and reduce the threshold current. For 405 nm violet LDs, the effects of p-AlGaN cladding layer composition and thickness on confinement factor and absorption loss were analyzed. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation analysis. Compared to violet LD, the confinement factors of 450 nm blue LD and 530 nm green LD were much lower. Using InGaN as waveguide layers that has higher refractive index than GaN will effectively enhance the optical confinement for blue and green LDs. The LDs based on nonpolar substrate allow for thick well layers and will increase the confinement factor several times. Furthermore, the confinement factor is less sensitive to alloys composition of waveguide and cladding layers, being an advantage especially important for ultraviolet and green LDs.

The characteristics of BSRs and their derived heat flow on the profile 973 in the northeastern South China Sea

Processing of a recently acquired seismic line in the northeastern South China Sea by Project 973 has been conducted to study the character and the distribution of gas hydrate Bottom-Simulating Reflectors (BSRs) in the Hengchun ridge. Analysis of different-type seismic profiles shows that the distribution of BSRs can be revealed to some extents by single-channel profile in this area, but seismic data processing plays an important role to resolve the full distribution of BSRs in this area. BSR' s in the northeastern South China Sea have the typical characteristics of BSRs on worldwide continental margins: they cross sediment bed reflections, they are generally parallel to the seafloor and the associated reflections have strong amplitude and a negative polarity. The characteristics of BSRs in this area are obvious and the BSRs indicate the occurrence of gas hydrate-bearing sediments in the northeastern South China Sea. The depth of the base of the gas-hydrate stability zone was calculated using the phase stability boundary curve of methane hydrate and gas hydrate with mixture gas composition and compared with the observed BSR depth. If a single gradient geothermal curve is used for the calculation, the base of the stability zone for methane hydrate or gas hydrate with a gas mixture composition does not correspond to the depth of the BSRs observed along the whole seismic profile. The geothermal gradient therefore changes significantly along the profile. The geothermal gradient and heat flow were estimated from the BSR data and the calculations show that the geothermal gradient and heat flow decrease from west to east, with the increase of the distance from the trench and the decrease of the distance to the island arc. The calculated 2 heat flow changes from 28 to 64 mW/m(2), which is basically consistent with the measured heat flow in southwestern offshore Taiwan.

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.

A 10 Gb/s Directly-Modulated 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Laser

We demonstrate 10 Gb/s directly-modulated 1.3 mu m InAs quantum-dot (QD) lasers grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The active region of the QD lasers consists of five-stacked InAs QD layers. Ridge-waveguide lasers with a ridge width of 4 mu m and a cavity length of 600 mu m are fabricated with standard lithography and wet etching techniques. It is found that the lasers emit at 1293 nm with a very low threshold current of 5 mA at room temperature. Furthermore, clear eye-opening patterns under 10 Gb/s modulation rate at temperatures of up to 50 degrees C are achieved by the QD lasers. The results presented here have important implications for realizing low-cost, low-power-consumption, and high-speed light sources for next-generation communication systems.

北极Gakkel超慢速扩张脊大洋橄榄岩的地球化学特征及其意义

Gakkel Ridge in Arctic Ocean is the ulstraslow spreading ridge in the world with a full spreading rate decreasing from 14 mm/yr in the western end to 7mm/yr in the eastern end. To study the histories of partial melting and melt referilization occurred in the oceanic mantle beneath Gakkel Ridge, both extremely fresh and altered abyssal peridotites from two dredge hauls (PS66-238 and HLY0102-D70) have been selected in this research. Major and trace element data of the residual minerals suggest that all samples have been refertilized by late enriched melts after low to moderate degrees (3-12%) of partial melting in the stability field of spinel, whereas some samples also inherited signatures of partial melting in stability field of garnet. Os isotopic compositions of Gakkel samples have not been significantly affected by late processes, e.g., seawater alteration and melt refertilzaiton. Samples from both dredge hauls have similar range of 187Os/188Os, from strongly unradiogenic (~0.114) in the harzburgites to approximating the inferred values of PUM (primitive upper mantle) in some lherzolites (~0.129). Inherited ancient depletion events in the harzburgites with Re-depletion age up to 2 billion years are unrelevant to the recent genesis of MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalts) beneath Gakkel Ridge. Comparisons of highly siderophile elements (HSEs) between the fresh and altered samples suggested both Pd and Re were affected and thus are mobile during seawater alteration, whereas the other HSEs (i.e., Os, Ir, Ru an Pt) are stable. The fractionated HSEs patterns in the harzburgites suggest both PPGEs (Pt and Pd) and Re can be fractionated from IPGEs (Os, Ir and Ru) at low degree of partial melting, which might be due to physical dredging of sulfide melts by silicate melts rather than equilibrium partitioning between residues and silicate melts. Inferred HSEs budget of the PUM confirm the previous study that both Ru/Ir and Pd/Ir are suprachondritic in the PUM. Some modifications of late-veneer hypothesis are required in light of the unique PUM composition. HSEs and Os isotopic compositions of Gakkel abyssal peridotites indicate the oceanic mantle is highly heterogeneous within a scale of one dredge haul (<5 km). Both depleted and fertile mantle domains are likely to be mechanically juxtaposed in the asthenosphere in a state of ‘plum pudding’. Widely distribution of ancient depleted components in the asthenosphere suggests that DMM (depleted MORB mantle) should not be synonymous with the MORB source. The later is just the fertile part of the former, i.e., the depleted components in the DMM do not or contribute little to the genesis of MORB.