N. A. Pikhtin

Ultralow internal optical loss in separate-confinement quantum-well laser heterostructures

Internal optical loss in separate-confinement laser heterostructures with an ultrawide (>1 smm) waveguide has been studied theoretically and experimentally. It is found that an asymmetric position of the active region in an ultrawide waveguide reduces the optical confinement factor for higher-order modes and raises the threshold electron density for these modes by 10–20%. It is shown that broadening the waveguide to above 1 µm results in a reduction of the internal optical loss only in asymmetric separate-confinement laser heterostructures. The calculated internal optical loss reaches ∼0.2 cm−1 (for λ≈1.08 µm) in an asymmetric waveguide 4 µm thick. The minimum internal optical loss has a fundamental limitation, which is determined by the loss from scattering on free carriers at the transparency carrier density in the active region. An internal optical loss of 0.34 cm−1 was attained in asymmetric separate-confinement laser heterostructures with an ultrawide (1.7 µm) waveguide, produced by MOCVD. Lasing in the fundamental transverse mode has been obtained owing to the significant difference in the threshold densities for the fundamental mode and higher-order modes. The record-breaking CW output optical power of 16 W and wallplug efficiency of 72% is obtained in 100-µm aperture lasers with a Fabry-Perot cavity length of ∼3 mm on the basis of the heterostructures produced.

Finite time of carrier energy relaxation as a cause of optical-power limitation in semiconductor lasers

It is shown that the reason why the maximum attainable optical power in semiconductor lasers is limited is the finite time of carrier energy relaxation via scattering by nonequilibrium optical phonons in the quantum-well active region. The power and spectral characteristics of semiconductor lasers are studied experimentally at high excitation levels (up to 100 kA/cm2) in pulsed lasing mode (100 ns, 10 kHz). As the drive current increases, the maximum intensity of stimulated emission tends to a constant value (“saturates”), and the emitted power increases owing to extension of the spectrum to shorter wavelengths. The intensity saturation is due to limitation of the rate of stimulated recombination, caused by a finite time of the electron energy relaxation via scattering by polar optical phonons. It is found that the broadening of the stimulated emission spectrum is related to an increase in carrier concentration in the active region, which enhances the escape of electrons into the waveguide layers. As the drive current increases, the carrier concentration in the waveguide reaches its threshold value and there appears an effective channel of current leakage from the active region. The experiment shows that the appearance of a band of waveguide lasing correlates with a sharp drop in the differential quantum efficiency of a semiconductor laser.

High-Power Laser Diodes Based on Asymmetric Separate-Confinement Heterostructures

Asymmetric separate-confinement laser heterostructures with ultrawide waveguides based on AlGaAs/GaAs/InGaAs solid solutions, with an emission wavelength of ∼1080 nm, are grown by MOCVD. The optical and electrical properties of mesa-stripe lasers with a stripe width of ∼100 μm are studied. Lasers based on asymmetric heterostructures with ultrawide (>1 μm) waveguides demonstrate lasing in the fundamental transverse mode with an internal optical loss of as low as 0.34 cm−1. In laser diodes with a cavity length of more than 3 mm, the thermal resistance is reduced to 2°C/W, and the characteristic temperature T0= 10°C is obtained in the range 0–100°C. A record-breaking wallplug efficiency of 74% and an output optical power of 16 W are reached in CW mode. Mean-time-between-failures testing for 1000 h at 65°C with an operation power of 3–4 W results in the power decreasing by 3–7%.

Study of non-diffracting light beams from broad-stripe edge-emitting semiconductor lasers

Broad-stripe edge-emitting semiconductor lasers have been used to obtain propagation-invariant (nondiffracting) light beams with powers and diameters of the central ray acceptable for optical manipulation and tweezing. The results of investigations of the propagation of Bessel beams generated from broad-stripe lasers with spectrally selective resonator show that the spatial homogeneity of emission plays a much greater role than the temporal coherence in the formation of Bessel beams. The main factors limiting the length of non-diffracting beam propagation (without distortion of the central ray) are the astigmatism and multimode character of laser radiation.

High-Power Pulse Semiconductor Laser-Thyristor Emitting at 900-nm Wavelength

High-power pulse semiconductor lasers based on epitaxially integrated thyristor heterostructures were developed. The possibility of generating high-power laser light pulses with duration on the order of 100 ns at control signal amplitude on the order of 40-100 mA at extremely low turn-on thyristor voltage of 10 V was demonstrated. The values reached for the peak pulse optical power and peak pulse current were 28 W and 37 A, respectively.

Controlling the radiation spectrum of quantum-well heterostructure lasers by ultrasonic strain

The radiation of a semiconductor laser has been modulated in frequency by variable strain. The strain is excited by injecting bulk or surface ultrasonic waves. Dynamic and static analyses of the variations in the spectral characteristics of the radiation in the presence of sound are performed. A model is suggested and the data obtained are analyzed theoretically. The radiation frequency modulation in InGaAsP/InP heterostructures produced by surface waves is shown to be determined mainly by the band gap modulation of the active region.

High-power laser diodes (λ = 808–850 nm) based on asymmetric separate-confinement heterostructures

Symmetric and asymmetric separate-confinement AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures have been grown by MOCVD in accordance with the concept of design of high-power semiconductor lasers. High-power laser diodes with a 100-µm aperture, emitting in the 808–850-nm range, were fabricated from these structures. The internal optical loss in asymmetric separate-confinement heterostructures with broadened waveguide is reduced to 0.5 cm−1. In the lasers with 1.7-µm-thick waveguide, the output optical power of 7.5 W in CW mode was achieved owing to reduction of the optical emission density at the cavity mirror to 4 mW/cm2.

High power single-mode (λ=1.3–1.6 μm) laser diodes based on quantum well InGaAsP/InP heterostructures

The possibility of achieving maximal optical output power in the single-mode lasing for mesa-stripe laser diodes fabricated on the basis of InGaAsP/InP quantum-well heterostructures with separate confinement have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. The basic condition for the single-mode lasing of laser diodes in a wide range of driving currents is shown to be the precise choice of the effective refractive index ΔnL discontinuity in the plane parallel to the p-n junction. A InGaAsP/InP separate confinement heterostructure with a step waveguide, with a threshold current density of 180 A/cm2 and an internal quantum efficiency of stimulated emission of 93–99%, has been manufactured via the MOCVD method. The optimization of the mesa-stripe diode design for the developed InGaAsP/InP heterostructure is carried out with the aim of achieving maximal optical output power in the case of single-mode lasing. An output power of 185 mW is attained in the laser diode with the mesa-stripe width W=4.5 μm (λ=1480 nm). The maximal continuous output power was as high as 300 mW. The full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the lateral far-field pattern increased by 1° relative to the threshold value.

Model of Steady-State Injection Processes in a High-Power Laser-Thyristor Based on Heterostructure With Internal Optical Feedback

Analytical model of a low-voltage laser-thyristor based on a semiconductor heterostructure has been developed. The model describes static current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and accounts for the nature of the voltage blocking and negative differential resistance in multijunction heterostructures with optical feedback. It is shown that a region of the I-V characteristic saturation appears in a laser thyristor in the ON-state with increasing current through the device. It is shown that optimizing the base region parameters and emission characteristics of the active region of the diode part makes it possible to preserve high efficiency of injection processes in the laser thyristor up to current densities exceeding tens of kA/cm2. It is demonstrated that switching from the blocking to the conducting state by control currents with densities of several A/cm2 is possible.

On the control efficiency of a high-power laser thyristor emitting in the 890–910 nm spectral range

A high power laser-thyristor structure providing low current-related and optical losses is developed. The possibility of controlling the lasing turn-on delay time of the laser thyristor in the 8–2600 ns range is demonstrated. The minimum values of the energy and amplitude of the control current-density pulse, required for turning-on the laser thyristor with a peak output power of 28 W, are 1.4 nJ and 0.6 A/cm2, respectively.