Molecular beam epitaxy growth and characterization of mid-IR type-II "W" diode lasers

Type II “W” diodes designed for emission at the spectral line of methane (3.31μm) when operated near 80K were grown on a compact 21T RIBER molecular beam epitaxy system. Photoluminescence and cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy were used as tools to improve the growth quality of these structures. The diodes exhibited very low lasing thresholds at T=80K (24–40A∕cm2), although further development will be required to enhance the characteristic temperature (T0∼40K) and the maximum operating temperature (∼190K). The lasers had favorable internal losses at all T up to 190K (∼7cm−1), and favorable internal efficiencies at low T (up to 85%). The I–V characteristics of nonlasing test structures were improved substantially by adding n-side “transition” regions that smoothed out abrupt steps in the conduction-band offset.

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