Saeed Fathololoumi

Terahertz quantum cascade lasers operating up to ~200 K with optimized oscillator strength and improved injection tunneling

A new temperature performance record of 199.5 K for terahertz quantum cascade lasers is achieved by optimizing the lasing transition oscillator strength of the resonant phonon based three-well design. The optimum oscillator strength of 0.58 was found to be larger than that of the previous record (0.41) by Kumar et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 131105 (2009)]. The choice of tunneling barrier thicknesses was determined with a simplified density matrix model, which converged towards higher tunneling coupling strengths than previously explored and nearly perfect alignment of the states across the injection and extraction barriers at the design electric field. At 8 K, the device showed a threshold current density of 1 kA/cm2, with a peak output power of ∼ 38 mW, and lasing frequency blue-shifting from 2.6 THz to 2.85 THz with increasing bias. The wavelength blue-shifted to 3.22 THz closer to the maximum operating temperature of 199.5 K, which corresponds to ∼ 1.28ħω/κB. The voltage dependence of laser frequency is related to the Stark effect of two intersubband transitions and is compared with the simulated gain spectra obtained by a Monte Carlo approach.

p-Type modulation doped InGaN/GaN dot-in-a-wire white-light-emitting diodes monolithically grown on Si(111).

Full-color, catalyst-free InGaN/GaN dot-in-a-wire light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were monolithically grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy, with the emission characteristics controlled by the dot properties in a single epitaxial growth step. With the use of p-type modulation doping in the dot-in-a-wire heterostructures, we have demonstrated the most efficient phosphor-free white LEDs ever reported, which exhibit an internal quantum efficiency of ∼56.8%, nearly unaltered CIE chromaticity coordinates with increasing injection current, and virtually zero efficiency droop at current densities up to ∼640 A/cm(2). The remarkable performance is attributed to the superior three-dimensional carrier confinement provided by the electronically coupled dot-in-a-wire heterostructures, the nearly defect- and strain-free GaN nanowires, and the significantly enhanced hole transport due to the p-type modulation doping.

Optical performance of top-down fabricated InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diode arrays.

Vertically aligned InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diode (LED) arrays were created from planar LED structures using a new top-down fabrication technique consisting of a plasma etch followed by an anisotropic wet etch. The wet etch results in straight, smooth, well-faceted nanorods with controllable diameters and removes the plasma etch damage. 94% of the nanorod LEDs are dislocation-free and a reduced quantum confined Stark effect is observed due to reduced piezoelectric fields. Despite these advantages, the IQE of the nanorod LEDs measured by photoluminescence is comparable to the planar LED, perhaps due to inefficient thermal transport and enhanced nonradiative surface recombination.

Tuning the surface charge properties of epitaxial InN nanowires

We have investigated the correlated surface electronic and optical properties of [0001]-oriented epitaxial InN nanowires grown directly on silicon. By dramatically improving the epitaxial growth process, we have achieved, for the first time, intrinsic InN both within the bulk and at nonpolar InN surfaces. The near-surface Fermi-level was measured to be ∼0.55 eV above the valence band maximum for undoped InN nanowires, suggesting the absence of surface electron accumulation and Fermi-level pinning. This result is in direct contrast to the problematic degenerate two-dimensional electron gas universally observed on grown surfaces of n-type degenerate InN. We have further demonstrated that the surface charge properties of InN nanowires, including the formation of two-dimensional electron gas and the optical emission characteristics can be precisely tuned through controlled n-type doping. At relatively high doping levels in this study, the near-surface Fermi-level was found to be pinned at ∼0.95-1.3 eV above the valence band maximum. Through these trends, well captured by the effective mass and ab initio materials modeling, we have unambiguously identified the definitive role of surface doping in tuning the surface charge properties of InN.

Full-color InGaN/GaN dot-in-a-wire light emitting diodes on silicon

We report on the achievement of a new class of nanowire light emitting diodes (LEDs), incorporating InGaN/GaN dot-in-a-wire nanoscale heterostructures grown directly on Si(111) substrates. Strong emission across nearly the entire visible wavelength range can be realized by varying the dot composition. Moreover, we have demonstrated phosphor-free white LEDs by controlling the indium content in the dots in a single epitaxial growth step. Such devices can exhibit relatively high internal quantum efficiency (>20%) and no apparent efficiency droop for current densities up to ~ 200 A cm(-2).

Power-efficient III-V/Silicon external cavity DBR lasers

We report the design and characterization of external-cavity DBR lasers built with a III-V-semiconductor reflective-SOA with spot-size converter edge-coupled to SOI waveguides containing Bragg grating mirrors. The un-cooled lasers have wall-plug-efficiencies of up to 9.5% at powers of 6 mW. The lasers are suitable for making power efficient, hybrid WDM transmitters in a CMOS-compatible SOI optical platform.

A phonon scattering assisted injection and extraction based terahertz quantum cascade laser

A lasing scheme for terahertz quantum cascade lasers, based on consecutive phonon-photon-phonon emissions per module, is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The charge transport of the proposed structure is modeled using a rate equation formalism. An optimization code based on a genetic algorithm was developed to find a four-well design in the GaAs/Al0.25Ga0.75As material system that maximizes the product of population inversion and oscillator strength at 150 K. The fabricated devices using Au double-metal waveguides show lasing at 3.2 THz up to 138 K. The electrical characteristics display no sign of differential resistance drop at lasing threshold, which, in conjunction with the low optical power of the device, suggest—thanks to the rate equation model—a slow depopulation rate of the lower lasing state, a hypothesis confirmed by non-equilibrium Green’s function calculations.

Effect of oscillator strength and intermediate resonance on the performance of resonant phonon-based terahertz quantum cascade lasers

We experimentally investigated the effect of oscillator strength (radiative transition diagonality) on the performance of resonant phonon-based terahertz quantum cascade lasers that have been optimized using a simplified density matrix formalism. Our results show that the maximum lasing temperature (Tmax) is roughly independent of laser transition diagonality within the lasing frequency range of the devices under test (3.2‐3.7THz) when cavity loss is kept low. Furthermore, the threshold current can be lowered by employing more diagonal transition designs, which can effectively suppress parasitic leakage caused by intermediate resonance between the injection and the downstream extraction levels. Nevertheless, the current carrying capacity through the designed lasing channel in more diagonal designs may sacrifice even more, leading to electrical instability and, potentially, complete inhibition of the device’s lasing operation. We propose a hypothesis based on electric-field domain formation and competition/switching of different current-carrying channels to explain observed electrical instability in devices with lower oscillator strengths. The study indicates that not only should designers maximize Tmax during device optimization but also they should always consider the risk of electrical instability in device operation. V C 2013 American

An indirectly pumped terahertz quantum cascade laser with low injection coupling strength operating above 150 K

We designed and demonstrated a terahertz quantum cascade laser based on indirect pump injection to the upper lasing state and phonon scattering extraction from the lower lasing state. By employing a rate equation formalism and a genetic algorithm, an optimized active region design with four-well GaAs/Al0.25Ga0.75As cascade module was obtained and epitaxially grown. A figure of merit which is defined as the ratio of modal gain versus injection current was maximized at 150 K. A fabricated device with a Au metal-metal waveguide and a top n+ GaAs contact layer lased at 2.4 THz up to 128.5 K, while another one without the top n+ GaAs lased up to 152.5 K (1.3ℏω/kB). The experimental results have been analyzed with rate equation and nonequilibrium Greens function models. A high population inversion is achieved at high temperature using a small oscillator strength of 0.28, while its combination with the low injection coupling strength of 0.85 meV results in a low current. The carefully engineered wavefunctions e...

Large-scale cubic InN nanocrystals by a combined solution- and vapor-phase method under silica confinement.

Large-scale cubic InN nanocrystals were synthesized by a combined solution- and vapor-phase method under silica confinement. Nearly monodisperse cubic InN nanocrystals with uniform spherical shape were dispersed stably in various organic solvents after removal of the silica shells. The average size of InN nanocrystals is 5.7 ± 0.6 nm. Powder X-ray diffraction results indicate that the InN nanocrystals are of high crystallinity with a cubic phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirm that the nanocrystals are composed of In and N elements. The InN nanocrystals exhibit infrared photoluminescence at room temperature, with a peak energy of ~0.62 eV, which is smaller than that of high-quality wurtzite InN (~0.65-0.7 eV) and is in agreement with theoretical calculations. The small emission peak energy of InN nanocrystals, as compared to other low-cost solution or vapor methods, reveals the superior crystalline quality of our samples, with low or negligible defect density. This work will significantly promote InN-based applications in IR optoelectronic device and biology.