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Edge-emitting lasers with active regions based on novel InGaAs/GaAs quantum heterostructures of transitional dimensionality, i.e., quantum well-dots, which are intermediate in properties between quantum wells and quantum dots, are studied. It is shown that the rate of the lasing-wavelength blue shift decreases with increasing number of quantum well-dot layers in the active region and with increasing optical confinement factor as the cavity length decreases. In a laser with 10 quantum well-dot layers, the lasing-wavelength position remains within the limits of the fundamental optical transition down to the smallest cavity lengths (100 μm). In devices with a single quantum well-dot layer and/or with a low optical confinement factor, lasing directly switches from the ground state to waveguide states omitting excited states below ≤200 μm. Such an effect has not been observed in quantum-well- and quantum-dot lasers and can be attributed to the abnormally low density of excited states in quantum well-dots.

InGaAs/InGaAlAs laser diodes operating in the 1.55-μm spectral range are studied. It is demonstrated that a certain level of carbon doping (1012 cm–2 per a single quantum well) allows one to reduce the temperature coefficient of variation of the lasing wavelength in such structures and raise the characteristic temperature of threshold current and differential efficiency at temperatures from 16 to ~50°C. These changes are accompanied by an increase in threshold current density and a reduction in differential efficiency.

The main characteristics of edge-emitting lasers with active regions based on nanoheterostructures of a new type—quantum well-dots (QWDs) operating at various wavelengths—are compared. The QWD structures operating at 980- and 1080-nm wavelengths demonstrated minimum values of threshold current density (160 and 125 A/cm2), high internal quantum efficiency (74 and 85%), and low internal losses (1.1 and 0.9 cm–1), respectively.

A post-growth technique aimed at spatial modification of facet reflectance of edge-emitting diode lasers has been proposed. It is based on the deposition of an anti-reflection coating and subsequent precise etching with a focused ion beam. The technique allowed suppressing of high-order lateral modes in 10 μm stripe lasers based on ten layers of InAs/InGaAs quantum dots.

We report on lasers based on InGaAs/GaAs quantum well-dots (QWDs). The density of states in QWDs is unique and different from that of quantum well and quantum dots. Modal gain of QWD ground state transition is as high as 75 cm-1 per layer. Output power of 14.2 W and 50 W in CW and in pulsed modes, respectively were obtained.

We report on broad-area lasers, mode-locked lasers (MLLs), and superluminescent light-emitting diodes (SLDs) based on a recently developed novel type of nanostructures that we refer to as quantum well-dots (QWDs). The QWDs are intermediate in properties between quantum wells and quantum dots and combine some useful properties of both. 1.08 μm InGaAs/GaAs QWDs broad area edge-emitting lasers based on coupled large optical cavity waveguides show high internal quantum efficiency of 92%, low internal loss of 0.9 cm-1 and material gain of ~1.1∙104 cm-1 per one QWD layer. CW output power of 14.2 W is demonstrated at room temperature. Superluminescent light-emitting diodes with one QWD layer in the active region exhibit stimulated emission spectra centered at 1050 nm with the maximal full width at half maximum of 36 nm and the output power of 17 mW. First results on mode-locked operation in QWD lasers are also presented. 2 mm long two-section devices demonstrate the pulse repetition rate of 19.3 GHz and the pulse duration of 3.5 ps. The width of the radio frequency spectrum is 0.2 MHz.

The results of studying edge-emitting quantum-well lasers with a layered design having coupled planar waveguides, capable of suppressing the generation of excited transverse modes, are presented. In this case, a low internal loss (0.4 cm–1) is provided, combined with a small depth (~0.9 μm) of the active region, which results in a low thermal resistance of 6.0 (K/W) mm without a submount.

The characteristics of lasers of the 1.44–1.46-μm optical range grown on GaAs substrates using a metamorphic buffer are studied. The active region of the laser contains 10 rows of InAs/In0.4Ga0.6As/In0.2Ga0.8As quantum dots. It is shown that the use of special selective high-temperature annealing along with the application of short-period In0.2Ga0.8As/In0.2Al0.3Ga0.5As short-period superlattices makes it possible to substantially decrease the density of threading dislocations in the active region. A threshold current density of 1300 A cm–2, external differential quantum efficiency of 38%, and maximal pulsed-mode output power of 13 W are attained for a laser with a broad area 3 mm in length.

Lasing in the orange spectral range (599–605 nm) is demonstrated for (AlxGa1 –x)0.5In0.5P–GaAs laser diodes grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on GaAs (211)A and (322)A substrates. The active region consists of four layers of InxGa1 –xP vertically coupled quantum dots. The leakage of nonequilibrium electrons from the active region is suppressed by barriers consisting of four quantum-confinement layers of the InGaAlP solid solution with a high Ga content. The maximal optical output power in the pulsed regime is 800 mW and is limited by the catastrophic optical degradation of mirrors. The lasers fabricated from structures grown on (322)A substrates have a lower threshold current density, higher differential quantum efficiency, and smaller internal losses when compared with lasers fabricated from structures grown on (211)A substrates, which is explained by the higher barrier for nonequilibrium electrons in the first case.

The process of obtaining a modified structure for quantum cascade lasers is studied; this process includes growth using molecular-beam epitaxy, plasma etching, photolithography with the use of liquid etching, and the formation of special contacts for decreasing losses in the waveguide. The use of a special type of structure makes it possible, even without postgrowth overgrowth with a high-resistivity material, to attain parameters satisfying requirements to heterostructures in high-quality quantum cascade lasers at maximal simplification of the entire preparation process.

Injection microlasers with an active region based on arrays of InGaAs/GaAs quantum well-dots, formed by deep etching, have been studied. The manner in which the current–voltage characteristic changes when the diameter microlaser is reduced shows that a nonelectrically conducting layer with thickness of about 1.5 μm is formed near the side surface, which leads to a decrease in the effective current flow area.

Results are presented of a study of light–current characteristics and far-field patterns of emission of stripe lasers with coupled planar waveguides. This configuration makes it possible to suppress the generation of excited modes and to have a small (about 0.9 μm) depth of the active region from the surface of the laser crystal. A high-temperature stability of the angular emission divergence (34.0° ± 1.5°) in the temperature range 20–80°C is demonstrated. The largest value of the output power is limited to 12.2 W in the continuous-wave mode by the catastrophic mirror damage.

We report simulation of the conduction band alignment in tensile–strained GaP–enriched barrier structures and experimental results on injection lasing in the green–orange spectral range (558–605 nm) in (AlxGa1–x)0.5In0.5P–GaAs diodes containing such barriers. The wafers were grown by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy side–by–side on (8 1 1)A, (2 1 1)A and (3 2 2)A GaAs substrates, which surface orientations were strongly tilted towards the [1 1 1]A direction with respect to the (1 0 0) plane. Four sheets of GaP–rich quantum barrier insertions were applied to suppress the leakage of non–equilibrium electrons from the gain medium. Two types of the gain medium were applied. In one case 4–fold stacked tensile–strained (In,Ga)P insertions were used. Experimental data shows that self–organized vertically–correlated quantum dots (QDs) are formed on (2 1 1)A– and (3 2 2)A–oriented substrates, while corrugated quantum wires are formed on the (8 1 1)A surface. In the other case a short–period superlattice (SPSL) composed of 16–fold stacked quasi–lattice–matched 1.4 nm–thick In0.5Ga0.5P layers separated by 4 nm–thick (Al0.6Ga0.4)0.5In0.5P layers was applied. Laser diodes with 4–fold stacked QDs having a threshold current densities of ∼7–10 kA/cm2 at room temperature were realized for both (2 1 1)A and (3 2 2)A surface orientations at cavity lengths of ∼1 mm. Emission wavelength at room temperature was ∼599–603 nm. Threshold current density for the stimulated emission was as low as ∼1 kA/cm2. For (8 1 1)A–grown structures no room temperature lasing was observed. SPSL structures demonstrated lasing only at low temperatures

We present an experimental study of the optical gain of edge-emitting lasers based on a new type of quantum-sized InGaAs active medium grown on GaAs substrates, which we refer to as quantum-well-dots (QWDs). It is shown that the single layer QWD active region provide at least 33 cm−1 optical gain at 1030 nm comparable to the values typical for InGaAs quantum wells (QWs), and the width of the gain spectra characteristic for InAs quantum dots (QDs). Thus, QWD active region combines the advantages of both QW and QD heterostructures and has a great potential for improving characteristics of various semiconductor devices.

Two laser heterostructures with active region based on seven InGaAs quantum wells and on InGaAs/InGaAlAs superlattice were grown on InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Both active regions were designed for vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers of 1535-1565 nm spectral range and had total thickness about 80-90 nm. Characteristics of edge-emitting laser diodes fabricated from grown laser heterostructures were studied and compared.

The results of experimental studies of the gain properties of “thin” (3.2 nm thick) elastically strained InGaAs/InGaAlAs quantum wells emitting in the near-infrared spectral region near 1550 nm are presented. The results of studying the threshold and gain characteristics of stripe laser diodes with active regions based on “thin” quantum wells with a lattice–substrate mismatch of +1.0% show that the quantum wells under study exhibit a high modal gain of 11 cm–1 and a low transparency current density of 46 A/cm2 per quantum well.

We show that the density of states and gain spectra of InGaAs/GaAs quantum well-dot (QWD) hybrid nanostructures qualitatively differ from that of quantum wells (QWs) and quantum dots. In QWDs, the density of states does not increase to higher energies and ground-state lasing is maintained up to shorter cavities (higher output loss) as compared to QW lasers emitting in the same optical range. The QWD lasers show lower threshold current densities and better temperature stability than the QW ones.

We present a study of high-power characteristics of edge-emitting lasers based on quantum well-dots (QWD) in a pulsed regime. QWD-based lasers with 2 and 5 active layers emitting at ∼1.1 μm provided maximal optical power of 39 W limited by the pulse current source available. We have investigated the lasing spectra and shown that under the injection current above 20 kA/cm2 the active region overheats approximately by 0.5°C per 1 kA/cm2 during 100 ns current pulse. The active region overheating correlates well with the reducing of the differential efficiency of our devices. We believe that maximal pulse optical power of the QWD-based lasers is limited mainly by our laser wafer design rather than by the QWD active media properties.

Having investigated narrow-ridge lasers based on a single layer of InGaAs quantum well-dots emitting at the wavelength of 1.06 μm we have shown anomalous transverse multimode lasing not observed in the broad-area lasers. The effect is shown to be caused by the wavelength shift triggered by the ground state gain saturation.

The optical gain performance of 1530-1565 nm laser diodes with active regions containing p-doped barrier layers has been investigated. We have studied the threshold current density and differential quantum efficiency in wide temperature range and compared modal gain behaviour of laser diodes made of heterostructure with delta-doped barrier layers by carbon at level of 1012 cm-2 and heterostructure with undoped barrier layers.

We present a study of characteristics of the edge-emitting lasers operating in the 0.98 μm wavelength range and based on a new type of InGaAs/GaAs active region – quantum well-dots (QWD). Utilizing the QWD active region in broadened 1.3 μm waveguide (BWG) allowed us to decrease the internal loss down to 0.5 cm−1 and to demonstrate the maximum output power of 13W and 50W in continuous wave (CW) and pulse operation regimes respectively. The investigation of the lasing spectra under high pulse injection currents revealed the overheating of the active region in the devices with moderate waveguide thickness (0.68 μm) in contrast with BWG devices.

We present our novel approach for promoting lateral single-mode operation in the edge-emitting lasers having broadened multi-mode stripe. The idea is based on the resonant optical tunneling of the high-order modes into the nearby passive stripes. Numerical and preliminary experimental results are discussed.

We discuss how to significantly reduce internal optical losses, thermal and electrical resistances in laser diodes via applying our novel approach for transverse mode engineering. The obtained experimental results make the concept promising for high-power lasers.

We studied edge-emitting and microdisk lasers based on a novel type of the laser active region, quantum well-dot hybrid nanostructures, which possess advantages of both quantum wells and quantum dots.

International audience; We report room temperature injection lasing in the yellow–orange spectral range (599–605 nm) in (Al x Ga 1–x) 0.5 In 0.5 P–GaAs diodes with 4 layers of tensile-strained In y Ga 1–y P quantum dot-like insertions. The wafers were grown by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy side-by-side on (811), (211) and (322) GaAs substrates tilted towards the direction with respect to the (100) surface. Four sheets of GaP-rich quantum barrier insertions were applied to suppress leakage of non-equilibrium electrons from the gain medium. Laser diodes having a threshold current densities of ~7–10 kA/cm 2 at room temperature were realized for both (211) and (322) surface orientations at cavity lengths of ~1mm. Emission wavelength at room temperature ~600 nm is shorter by ~8 nm than previously reported. As an opposite example, the devices grown on (811) GaAs substrates did not show lasing at room temperature.

Heterostructures with InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized on vicinal GaAs (001) substrates. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra and threshold characteristics of edge-emitting QD lasers are studied in the temperature range 10-400 K. The structural properties of QDs are examined by transmission electron microscopy. Analysis of the PL spectra demonstrates the bimodality of the QD array, which leads to an unusual temperature behavior of the PL spectra and threshold current density. A model of the population of a bimodal QD array by carriers, describing the observed phenomena, is considered.

International audience; Low threshold current density (

The spectral analysis of amplified spontaneous emission is used to determine the linewidth enhancement factor (α-factor) in lasers based on InAs/InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) in a wide spectral range near the ground-state optical transition energy. The effect of the pump current and number of QDs on the spectral dependences of the α-factor is examined. The temperature dependence of the spectra of the α-factor is experimentally determined for the first time for lasers with InAs/InGaAs QDs. An explanation is suggested for the observed anomalous decrease in the α-factor with increasing temperature.

We report results of characterization of injection microdisk lasers based on active layers employing 2, 5 and 10 layers of InGaAs quantum well-dot structures. The microlasers operate in continuous wave regime at room temperature without external cooling. The minimal microdisk diameter 10 µm is obtained for 5 layers of InGaAs quantum well-dot structures. Lasing wavelength is around 1.1...1.15 µm, minimal threshold current is 1.6 mA (threshold current density 900 A/cm2).

An AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well (QW) laser is fabricated with GaInP and AlGaInAs asymmetric barrier layers (ABLs) and its light–current characteristic (LCC) is compared with that of a reference conventional QW laser without ABLs. It was found that the use of the ABLs suppresses the sublinearity of the LCC at high current densities. As a result, the maximum lasing power of 9.2 W, being limited by catastrophic optical mirror damage, is achieved at a considerably lower operating current in the laser with ABLs as compared to the reference laser (12.5 against 20.2 A). The ABL effect is associated with the suppression of the parasitic recombination in the optical confinement layer, as confirmed by a decrease of the intensity of the spontaneous emission from the layer.

Heat dissipation under the high-speed modulation of quantum dot edge-emitting lasers is considered. It is shown that, for a given laser diode, there is a bias current at which the heat-to-bitrate ratio is minimized. Moreover, there exists a certain optimal optical loss of the laser cavity at which the lowest heat-to-bitrate ratio is provided for any design of edge-emitting lasers that can be fabricated from an epitaxial structure. The heat-to-bitrate ratio and the corresponding bitrate are numerically calculated and analytical expressions are derived. It is demonstrated that the heat-to-bitrate ratio of quantum dot edge-emitting lasers can be less than 0.4 pJ/bit at a bitrate exceeding 10 Gbit/s.

We review our novel approach based on coupled large optical cavity (CLOC) structures for effective suppression of high-order transverse modes in edge-emitting lasers with broadened waveguides. We discuss the main principles of the CLOC laser concept and present our recent numerical and experimental results of the laser operation.

Tilted Wave Lasers (TWLs) based on optically coupled thin active waveguide and thick passive waveguide offer an ultimate solution for thick–waveguide diode laser, preventing catastrophic optical mirror damage and thermal smile in laser bars, providing robust operation in external cavity modules thus enabling wavelength division multiplexing and further increase in brightness enabling direct applications of laser diodes in the mainstream material processing. We show that by proper engineering of the waveguide one can realize high performance laser diodes at different tilt angles of the vertical lobes. Two vertical lobes directed at various angles (namely, +/–27° or +/–9°) to the junction plane are experimentally realized by adjusting the compositions and the thicknesses of the active and the passive waveguide sections. The vertical far field of a TWL with the two +/–9° vertical beams allows above 95% of all the power to be concentrated within a vertical angle below 25°, the fact which is important for laser stack applications using conventional optical coupling schemes. The full width at half maximum of each beam of the value of 1.7° evidences diffraction– limited operation. The broad area (50 μm) TWL chips at the cavity length of 1.5 mm reveal a high differential efficiency ~90% and a current–source limited pulsed power >42W for as–cleaved TWL device. Thus the power per facet length in a laser bar in excess of 8.4 kW/cm can be realized. Further, an ultimate solution for the smallest tilt angle is that where the two vertical lobes merge forming a single lobe directed at the zero angle is proposed.

An analytical expression is derived for the linewidth enhancement factor of a quantum-dot laser, which makes it possible to describe its dependence on optical loss and photon density in an explicit form. The model accounts for refractive index variations at the ground-state optical transition due to gain/absorption variations upon the first excited-state transition in quantum dots. It is shown that a decrease in optical loss, an increase in saturated gain, and an increase in the energy separation between the excited-state and ground-state transitions results in a decrease in the α factor both at and above the lasing threshold.

The lasing spectra and light-current (L-I) characteristics of an InAs/InGaAs quantum dot laser emitting in the simultaneous lasing mode at the ground- and excited-state optical transitions are studied. Lasing and spontaneous emission spectra are compared. It is shown that ground-state quenching of lasing is observed even in the absence of active region self-heating or an increase in homogeneous broadening with growth in the current density. It is found that the intensities of both lasing and spontaneous emission at the ground-state transition begin to decrease at a pump intensity that significantly exceeds the two-level lasing threshold. It is also found that different groups of quantum dots are involved in ground- and excited-state lasing.

The concept of a diffraction optical filter is used for prevention of high-order mode oscillation in a design of stripe laser diodes with an active region based on InAs/InGaAs quantum dots emitting in the 1.3-μm wavelength range grown on GaAs substrates. Incorporation of such a filter made it possible to increase the width of the stripe and obtain an output power as high as 700 mW with retention of a single-spatial-mode character of lasing.

We show theoretically and experimentally that distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) supports a surface electromagnetic wave exhibiting evanescent decay in the air and oscillatory decay in the DBR. The wave exists in TM polarization only. The field extension in the air may reach several wavelengths of light. Once gain medium is introduced into the DBR a novel class of diode lasers, semiconductor optical amplifiers, light-emitting diodes, etc. can be developed allowing a new type of in-plane or near-field light outcoupling. To improve the wavelength stability of the laser diode, a resonant cavity structure can be coupled to the DBR, allowing a coupled state of the cavity mode and the near-field mode. A GaAlAs-based epitaxial structure of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) having an antiwaveguiding cavity and multiple GaInAs quantum wells as an active region was grown and processed as an in–plane Fabry-Perot resonator with cleaved facets. Windows in the top stripe contact were made to facilitate monitoring of the optical modes. Three types of the optical modes were observed in electroluminescence (EL) studies under high current densities > 1 kA/cm2. Mode A with the longest wavelength is a VCSEL–like mode emitting normal to the surface. Mode B has a shorter wavelength, emitting light at two symmetric lobes tilted with respect to the normal to the surface in the direction parallel to the stripe. Mode C has the shortest wavelength and shifts with a temperature at a rate 0.06 nm/K. Polarization studies reveal predominantly TE emission for modes A and B and purely TM for mode C in agreement with the theory. Spectral position, thermal shift and polarization of mode C confirm it to be a coupled state of the cavity mode and near-field DBR surface-trapped mode.

Dependences of the lasing spectrum’s width of lasers based on arrays of self-organized InAs/InGaAs quantum dots on the temperature and output power have been experimentally studied. A theoretical analysis and simulation of the experimental results have been performed and the possibility of an adequate analytical description of the power and temperature dependences of the lasing line width in terms of the model developed has been demonstrated. It is shown that the main cause of the broadening of the lasing spectrum at low temperatures is the gain saturation in quantum dots as a result of the increase in the average carrier’s escape and capture times.

Lasers that emit in the 1.3 μm wavelength range and include the active region based on InAs quantum dots were grown by the method of molecular-beam epitaxy and have been studied. The cavity includes a multilayer interference reflector, which brings about the fact that a large factor of optical confinement and low leakage losses are obtained only for the light propagating at some angle and, consequently, having a strictly definite wavelength. It is shown that, due to the use of such a waveguide structure, the temperature shift of the lasing wavelength is 0.2 nm/K, which is 2.5 times smaller than this shift in the lasers with quantum dots and with a conventional structure of the waveguide. The lasers with the stripe-contact width W = 10 μm exhibited the spatially single-mode emission, which verifies the advantages of the suggested nonconventional structure of the optical waveguide.