Ridge-width dependence of midinfrared interband cascade laser characteristics

We report an experimental study of how the light-current char- acteristics and lateral mode properties of interband cascade lasers de- pend on ridge width. Narrower ridges provide greater heat dissipation due to lateral flow, along with operation in a single lateral mode. However, sidewall imperfections increase the cw threshold current density some- what, from Jth = 582 A/cm 2 at 300 K for an 11-μm-wide ridge to 713 A/cm 2 and 1.07 kA/cm 2 for 5- and 3-μm-wide ridges, respectively. The nar- rowest ridges similarly display a degradation of the slope efficiency. A 13-μm-wideridgeproduced45mWperfacetofcwoutputpowerandmax- imumwall-plugefficiencyof3.5%perfacetatT =20 ◦ C. A 5-μm-wideridge with 3-mm cavity length and no facet coatings operated cw at λ = 3.5-μm to a new record temperature of 345 K for the 3 to 4-μm spectral range.

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