Room-Temperature Continuous-Wave Operation of InGaN-Based Blue-Violet Laser Diodes with a Lifetime of 15.6 Hours

We report our recent progress of investigations on InGaN-based blue-violet laser diodes (LDs). The room-temperature (RT) cw operation lifetime of LDs has extended to longer than 15.6 h. The LD structure was grown on a c-plane free-standing (FS) GaN substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The typical threshold current and voltage of LD under RT cw operation are 78 mA and 6.8 V, respectively. The experimental analysis of degradation of LD performances suggests that after aging treatment, the increase of series resistance and threshold current can be mainly attributed to the deterioration of p-type ohmic contact and the decrease of internal quantum efficiency of multiple quantum well (MQW), respectively.

QUANTUM WAVE-GUIDE THEORY FOR MESOSCOPIC STRUCTURES

A one-dimensional quantum waveguide theory for mesoscopic structures is proposed, and the boundary conditions of the wave functions at an intersection are given. The Aharonov-Bohm effect is quantitatively discussed with use of this theory, and the reflection, transmission amplitudes, etc., are given as functions of the magnetic flux, the arm lengths, and the wave vector. It is found that the oscillating current consists of a significant component of the second harmonic. This theory is also applied to investigate quantum-interference devices. The results on the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the quantum-interference devices are found to be in agreement with previous theoretical results.

GAAS/GAALAS GRADED INDEX SEPARATE CONFINEMENT SINGLE QUANTUM-WELL SINGLE-MODE WAVE-GUIDE ELECTROABSORPTION LIGHT-MODULATOR

A GaAs/GaAlAs graded-index separate confinement single quantum well heterostructure single-mode ridge waveguide electroabsorption modulator was fabricated and investigated. For the modulator with a quantum well width of 100 angstrom and device length of 700-mu-m, an on/off ratio of 29.7 dB and estimated absorption insertion loss of 3 dB were obtained for TE polarised light with wavelength 8650 angstrom, and for TM polarisation the on/off ratio was 28.5 dB. With a switching voltage of 1 V, an on/off ratio of 15 dB was achieved. Photocurrent spectra exhibited a red shift of 600 angstrom of the absorption edge when the voltage applied to the PIN diode was varied from 0.5 to -7 V. The corresponding shift of the room temperature exciton peak energy was 96 meV.

Perpendicular-electric-field dependence of exciton binding energy studied by continuous-wave photoluminescence

The reduction of exciton binding energy induced by a perpendicular electric field in a stepped quantum well is studied. From continuous-wave photoluminescence spectra at 77 K we have observed an obvious blueshift of the exciton peak due to a spatially direct-to-indirect transition of excitons. A simple method is used to calculate the exciton binding energy while the inhomogeneous broadening is taken into account in a simple manner. The calculated result reproduces remarkably well the experimental observation.

TAILORED DFB LASER PROPERTIES BY INDIVIDUALLY CHIRPED GRATINGS USING BENT WAVE-GUIDES

DFB lasers with continuously and arbitrarily chirped gratings of ultrahigh spatial precision are implemented by a method we proposed recently, using bent waveguides on homogeneous grating fields. Choosing individual bending functions we generate special chirping functions and obtain additional degrees of freedom to tailor and improve specific device performances, We present two applications for lasers showing several improved device properties and the effectiveness of our method, First, we implement continuously distributed phase-shifted lasers, revealing a considerably reduced photon pile-up, higher single-longitudinal mode stability, higher output power, lower linewidth, and higher yield than conventional abruptly phase-shifted lasers, Second, a novel tuning principle is applied in chirped multiple-section DFB lasers, showing 5.5-nm wavelength tuning, without any gaps, maintaining high side-mode suppression.

CONTINUOUSLY CHIRPED DFB GRATINGS BY SPECIALLY BENT WAVE-GUIDES FOR TUNABLE LASERS

We have implemented and studied a new type of tunable multiple-section semiconductor distributed feedback (DFB) laser using tailored chirped DFB gratings. Arbitrarily and continuously chirped DFB gratings are defined by bent waveguides on homogeneous grating fields with ultrahigh spatial precision, The mathematical bending functions are optimized in this case to provide enlarged wavelength tuning ranges. We present the results of model calculations, the technological device realization and experimental results of the DFB laser characterization e.g. a tuning range of 5.5 mm without wavelength gaps and high side mode suppression ratio.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of flexural wave propagation in periodic grid structures designed with the idea of phononic crystals

The propagation characteristics of fiexural waves in periodic grid structures designed with the idea of phononic crystals are investigated by combining the Bloch theorem with the finite element method. This combined analysis yields phase constant surfaces, which predict the location and the extension of band gaps, as well as the directions and the regions of wave propagation at assigned frequencies. The predictions are validated by computation and experimental analysis of the harmonic responses of a finite structure with 11 × 11 unit cells. The fiexural wave is localized at the point of excitation in band gaps, while the directional behaviour occurs at particular frequencies in pass bands. These studies provide guidelines to designing periodic structures for vibration attenuation.

Numerical analysis of four-wave-mixing based multichannel wavelength conversion techniques in fibers

We numerically investigate four-wave-mixing (FWM) based multichannel wavelength conversion for amplitude-modulated signals, phase-modulated signals, together with mixed amplitude and phase modulated signals. This paper also discusses the influence of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effects on high-efficiency FWM-based wavelength conversion applications. Our simulation results show that DPSK signals are more suitable for FWM-based multichannel wavelength conversion because the OOK signals will suffer from the inevitable datapattern-dependent pump depletion. In future applications, when the modulation format is partially upgraded from OOK to DPSK, the influence of OOK signals on the updated DPSK signals must be considered when using multichannel wavelength conversion. This influence becomes severe with the increase of OOK channel number. It can be concluded that DPSK signals are more appropriate for both transmission and multichannel wavelength conversion,especially in long haul and high bit-rate system.

Room temperature continuous wave operation of 1.33-micron InAs/GaAs quantum dot laser with high output power

Continuous wave operation of a semiconductor laser diode based on five stacks of InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded within strained InGaAs quantum wells as an active region is demonstrated. At room temperature, 355-mW output power at ground state of 1.33-1.35 microns for a 20-micron ridge-waveguide laser without facet coating is achieved. By optimizing the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth conditions, the QD density per layer is raised to 4*10^(10) cm^(-2). The laser keeps lasing at ground state until the temperature reaches 65 Celsius degree.

Calculation of Valence Subband Structures for Strained Quantum-Wells by Plane Wave Expansion Method Within 6 * 6 Luttinger-Kohn Model

The valence subband energies and wave functions of a tensile strained quantum well are calculated by the plane wave expansion method within the 6 * 6 Luttinger-Kohn model. The effect of the number and period of plane-waves used for expansion on the stability of energy eigenvalues is examined. For practical calculation, it should choose the period large sufficiently to ensure the envelope functions vanish at the boundary and the number of plane waves large enough to ensure the energy eigenvalues keep unchanged within a prescribed range.

Two-wave mixing in resonant photorefractive GaAs/AlGaAs semi-insulating multiple quantum wells

国家自然科学基金