Manuela Buda

Influence of rapid thermal annealing on a 30 stack InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetector

The research at the Australian National University was supported by the Australian Research Council and the work at the University of Michigan was supported by DARPA under Grant No. DAAD19-00-1-0394.

Observation of Blue Shifts in ZnO/ZnMgO Multiple Quantum Well Structures by Ion-implantation Induced Intermixing

Implantation with low-energy (80 keV) oxygen ions and subsequent rapid thermal annealing at 800 °C are used to induce intermixing in a stack of 19 ZnO/Zn0.7Mg0.3O multiple quantum wells grown on sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy. Large blue shifts of more than 300 meV have been observed for doses up to 1 × 1016 cm−2, with no observation of saturation. This process is driven by the creation of defects by implantation which encourage the diffusion of Mg from the barrier layers into the ZnO quantum wells. Although defects are introduced during the implantation process, good recovery of the cathodoluminescence is seen following rapid thermal annealing. The Zn–Mg interdiffusion in this system has also been calculated for the corresponding ion doses, and the diffusion coefficient extracted. This study has significant implications for band gap engineering of ZnO/ZnMgO optoelectronic devices.

Low loss, thin p-clad 980-nm InGaAs semiconductor laser diodes with an asymmetric structure design

Thin p-clad InGaAs ridge waveguide quantum-well lasers having an asymmetric structure design were fabricated. The internal absorption coefficient is as low as 2.5 cm/sup -1/, due to the restricted field extension in the 0.3-/spl mu/m-thick p-type top AlGaAs cladding layer. Ti-Pt-Au metallization is used outside the ridge to provide adherence on the oxide while Au directly contacts the ridge region. It is shown that the most likely source of loss in these thin p-clad devices is scattering at the rough interface between Au and the p/sup ++/ top GaAs layer, after ohmic contact heat treatment.

Improvement of the kink-free operation in ridge-waveguide laser diodes due to coupling of the optical field to the metal layers outside the ridge

The kink-free output power in 980-nm emitting laser diodes can be increased by 30%-50% in ridge-waveguide devices when the thickness of the oxide is decreased such that the optical field is allowed to interact with the lossy Ti-PtAu metallization outside the ridge. This provides selective loss for the first-order lateral mode and delays the onset of the beam steering associated with kinks in the power output-current characteristic. The method is very simple and can be applied for any kind of ridge-waveguide semiconductor laser diode device.

Analysis of 6-nm AlGaAs SQW low-confinement laser structures for very high-power operation

This paper reports experimental results on single quantum-well separate confinement heterostructures (SQW SCH) with low-confinement factor, designed for very high-power operation. The maximum power output for AR/HR coated 3-mm-long devices, measured in very short pulsed conditions (100 ns/1 kHz), from 10-/spl mu/m-wide stripes was as high as 6.4 W before catastrophic optical degradation. If scaled to continuous-wave (CW) conditions, this value would be 800-1100 MW, which would mean a factor of 22.7 times more than reported for the best devices with normal design for threshold minimization. The absorption coefficient for the symmetrical structure is as low as 1.1 cm/sup -1/, in spite of the low trapping efficiency of carriers in the quantum well (QW). The maximum differential efficiency is 40% (both faces, uncoated devices) for symmetrical structure and 33% for the asymmetrical one (all measurements in pulsed conditions). Threshold current densities were 800 A/cm/sup 2/ for 5-mm-long devices in the symmetrical case and 2200 A/cm/sup 2/ in the asymmetrical one. The effects of inefficient carrier trapping in the QW on the threshold current densities and differential efficiency are discussed.

Effect of Auger recombination on the performance of p-doped quantum dot lasers

Experimental results on spontaneous emission rates from InGaAs quantum dot lasers that can be explained theoretically by considering the influence of nonradiative mixed state recombinations in the quantum dot-wetting layer system are presented. Our model qualitatively explains the experimental results such as an increase in the threshold current density, temperature stability, and a narrower gain spectrum due to doping the quantum dot active region with the acceptors. Our model also predicts that moderate acceptor concentrations can improve the laser performance at higher carrier injection densities; but high acceptor concentrations deteriorate the laser performance due to the nonradiative Auger recombination that counteracts the benefits of increased spontaneous emission rates.

Low-loss low-confinement GaAs-AlGaAs DQW laser diode with optical trap layer for high-power operation

A low-confinement asymmetric GaAs-AlGaAs double-quantum-well molecular-beam-epitaxy grown laser diode structure with optical trap layer is characterized, The value of the internal absorption coefficient is as low as 1.4 cm/sup -1/, while keeping the series resistance at values comparable cm with symmetrical quantum-well gradient index structures in the same material system. Uncoated devices show COD values of 35 mW//spl mu/m. If coated, this should scale to about 90 mW//spl mu/m. The threshold current density is about 1000 A/cm/sup 2/ for 2-mm-long devices and a considerable part of it is probably due to recombination in the optical trap layer. Fundamental mode operation is limited to 120-180 mW for 6.5-/spl mu/m-wide ridge waveguide uncoated devices and to 200-300 mW for 13.5-/spl mu/m-wide ones, because of thermal waveguiding effects. These values are measured under pulsed conditions, 10 /spl mu/s/l ms.

Modeling and characterization of InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers grown using metal organic chemical vapor deposition

We report on the lasing characteristics of three- and five-stack InAs∕GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. By increasing the number of stacked dot layers to 5, lasing was achieved from the ground state at 1135nm for device lengths as short as 1.5mm (no reflectivity coatings). The unamplified spontaneous emission and Z ratio as a function of injection current were also investigated. While the five-stack QD lasers behaved as expected with Z ratios of ≈2 prior to lasing, the three-stack QD lasers, which lased from the excited state, exhibited Z-ratio values as high as 4. A simple model was developed and indicated that high Z ratios can be generated by three nonradiative recombination pathways: (i) high monomolecular recombination within the wetting layer, (ii) Auger recombination involving carriers within the QDs (“unmixed” Auger), and (iii) Auger recombination involving both the QD and wetting layer states (“mixed” Auger), which dominate once the excited and wetting...

Characteristics of MOCVD-grown thin p-clad InGaAs quantum-dot lasers

Thin p-clad quantum-dot lasers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition are fabricated and shown to lase in ground state for device lengths greater than 2.5 mm. The device characteristics are presented and the modal behavior is investigated. The threshold current density is found to be much larger for narrow (4 /spl mu/m) stripe width devices than expected from the wider (50 /spl mu/m) stripe width devices. This is attributed to gain saturation within the devices.

Influence of SiO2 and TiO2 dielectric layers on the atomic intermixing of InxGa1−xAs/InP quantum well structures

We have studied the influence of SiO2 and TiO2 dielectric layers on the atomic intermixing of InxGa1−xAs/InP quantum well structures using the impurity-free vacancy disordering technique. Photoluminescence results revealed that an enhancement of interdiffusion was obtained when the samples were capped with SiO2. Although TiO2 layers were able to suppress the interdiffusion in the InGaAs/InP system, the suppression was not significant compared to the AlGaAs/GaAs system. Based on a fitting procedure that was deconvoluted from the photoluminescence spectra as well as a theoretical modeling, the electron–heavy hole and electron–light hole transitions were identified, and a ratio of the group V to the group III diffusion coefficients (k) was obtained. The k ratio of the InGaAs/InP samples capped with SiO2 is relatively larger than that of samples capped with TiO2 layers.