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The potential of 1.3-μm AlGaInAs quantum-well (MQW) laser diodes for uncooled operation in high-speed optical communication systems is experimentally evaluated by characterizing the temperature dependence of key parameters such as the threshold current, transparency current density, optical gain and carrier lifetime. Detailed measurements performed in the 20°C-100°C temperature range indicate a localized T0 value of 68 K at 98°C for a device with a 208 μm ridge width and 700μm cavity length. The transparency current density is measured for temperatures from 20°C to 60°C and found to increase at a rate of 7.7 A.cm-2 · °C-1. Optical gain characterizations show that the peak model gain at threshold is independent of temperature, whereas the differential gain decreases linearly with temperature, whereas the differential gain decreases linearly with temperature at a rate of 3 × 10-4 A-1 · °C-1. The differential carrier lifetime is determined from electrical impedance measurements and found to decrease with temperature. From the measured carrier lifetime we derive the monomolecular (A), radiative (B), and nonradiative Auger (C) recombination coefficients and determine their temperature dependence in the 20°C-80°C range. Our study shows that A is temperature independent, B decreases with temperature. The experimental observations are discussed and compared with theoretical predictions and measurements performed on other material systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]