V. A. Kapitonov

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%.

Comparison of carbon and zinc p-clad doped LP MOCVD grown InGaAs/AlGaAs low divergence high-power laser heterostructures

Carbon doping of GaAs and AlGaAs layers grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, using triethylgallium, trimethylaluminum and arsine as growth precursors and carbon tetrachloride as dopant precursor, were investigated. Doping level dependence on growth temperature, growth rate, V/III ratio and AlAs mole fraction was established. InGaAs/AlGaAs DQW broad waveguide separate confinement laser heterostructures with different p-clad doping have been studied. Heterostructures design and optimization of active area growth conditions have been fulfilled to obtain high-power operation of laser diodes (LDs) with low transverse divergence. Carbon tetrachloride and diethylzinc were used as p-type dopant precursors. There were investigated three types of heterostructures: (a) C-doped AlGaAs p-clad and heavy C-doped GaAs contact layer, (b) C-doped AlGaAs p-clad and heavy Zn-doped GaAs contact layer, (c) Zn-doped AlGaAs p-clad and heavy Zn-doped GaAs contact layer. Broad area LDs were manufactured and analyzed. As a result the optimal p-type dopant precursor for high-power LDs was discussed.

AlGaAs/GaAs diode lasers (1020–1100 nm) with an asymmetric broadened single transverse mode waveguide

Approaches to the development of laser heterostructures with a broadened single-mode waveguide are studied theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the use of n- and p-type emitters with different refractive-index values ensures lasing in the fundamental mode only, if the thickness of the waveguide layer is 2 μm. The studied semiconductor lasers fabricated using the developed heterostructure feature internal optical losses amounting to 0.6 cm−1; the divergence in the plane perpendicular to the p-n junction is 23°. In the continuous lasing mode at room temperature, a linear power-current characteristic is obtained at an output optical power as high as 7 W.

850-nm diode lasers based on AlGaAsP/GaAs heterostructures

Laser heterostructures with waveguides and emitter layers made of AlGaAs and AlGaAsP alloys are grown by hydride metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy on a GaAs substrate and studied. It was shown that the heterostructure containing AlGaAsP layers has a large curvature radius in comparison with the structure consisting of AlGaAs layers. Ridge waveguide lasers with an aperture of 100 μm are fabricated based on the AlGaAsP/GaAs laser heterostructure and studied. The internal optical loss of the lasers is 0.75 cm−1; the characteristic parameter T0 = 140 K in the temperature range of 20–70°C. The maximum optical output power per mirror reached 4.1 W; cw lasing was retained at a heat sink temperature of 120°C.

Record power characteristics of InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure lasers

Continuous-wave output powers of 9.2 W at a constant heatsink temperature of 10°C and 12.2 W at a stabilized temperature of the active region have been obtained on an InGaAs/AlGaAs laser with a 0.4-µm-thick waveguide, operating at 1.03 µm. Record-breaking output mirror power densities of, respectively, 29.9 and 40 MW/cm2 have been achieved without catastrophic optical mirror damage in the two temperature-stabilization regimes. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 66% has been achieved in a laser with a cavity length of 2 mm.

Self-organized nanosize InP and InAsP clusters obtained by metalorganic compound hydride epitaxy

Results are presented of investigations of the growth of self-organizing nanosize InP and InAsP clusters in an In0.5Ga0.5P matrix. The structure was characterized by low-temperature photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy. The photoluminescence measurements revealed highly efficient radiative recombination from the quantum dots and indicated that the structures were of good optical quality. The average density and size of the InP clusters, determined from the results of the transmission electron microscope measurements, are 3×109 cm−2 and 80 nm, respectively.

High-power laser diodes of wavelength 808 nm based on various types of asymmetric heterostructures with an ultrawide waveguide

The parameters of high-power multimode laser diodes featuring a radiation wavelength of 808 nm obtained on the basis of asymmetric heterostructures with an ultrawide waveguide in the systems of AlGaAs/GaAs and (Al)GaInP/GaInAsP/GaAs are compared. In the lasers based on an AlGaAs/GaAs system, the maximum optical power was limited by optical degradation of the SiO2/Si mirrors and amounted to 4.7 W. In the lasers based on an (Al)GaInP/GaInAsP/GaAs system, the maximum optical power was limited by thermal saturation and equaled 7 W. The obtained results show that the (Al)GaInP/GaInAsP/GaAs system is more reliable from the standpoint of an increase in both the maximum optical power and operation life of lasers.

Saturation of light-current characteristics of high-power laser diodes (λ = 1.0–1.8 μm) under pulse operation

Spectral and light-current characteristics of separate-confinement lasers that are based on InAl-GaAs/InP and InGaAsP/InP alloys and emit in the wavelength range of 1.5–1.8 μm are studied at high excitation levels (up to 80 kA/cm2) in pulse operation (100 ns, 10 kHz). It is shown that the peak intensity in the stimulated-emission spectrum saturates as the pump current is increased. Further increase in the emitted power is attained owing to the emission-spectrum broadening to shorter wavelengths, similar to lasers on the GaAs substrates (λ = 1.04 μm). It is established experimentally that the broadening of the stimulated-emission spectrum to shorter wavelengths is caused by an increase in the threshold current and by an increase in the charge-carrier concentration in the active region. This concentration increases by a factor of 6–7 beyond the lasing threshold and can be as high as 1019 cm−3 in pulse operation. It is shown that saturation of the light-current characteristics in pulse operation takes place in the InAlGaAs/InP and InGaAsP/InP lasers as the pump current is increased. It is shown experimentally that there is a correlation between saturation of the light-current characteristic and an increase in the threshold current in the active region. An increase in the charge-carrier concentration and gradual filling of the active region and waveguide layers with electrons are observed as the pump current is increased; stimulated emission from the waveguide is observed at high pump currents.

Studying the characteristics of pulse-pumped semiconductor 1060-nm lasers based on asymmetric heterostructures with ultrathick waveguides

High-power semiconductor lasers based on asymmetric quantum-dimensional separate confinement InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures with ultrathick waveguides were fabricated by means of metalorganic hydride vapor phase epitaxy technology. The laser characteristics were studied in a pulsed pumping regime, in which the emission was excited by current pulses of 100 ns duration at a repetition frequency of 10 kHz and an amplitude of up to 200 A. The passage to a pulsed lasing regime allowed the active region heating to be reduced and the output power to be increased to 145 W for a laser diode with a 100-μm exit aperture. The results obtained for the pulsed lasing regime show that saturation of the output power-current characteristic observed in the continuous-wave regime is fully determined by overheating of the active region of a semiconductor laser.

MOCVD-grown InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs laser structures with a broad-area contact

A metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique is developed for a diode laser heterostructure in a system of InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs solid solutions; the optimal sizes and the doping profile of the structure are determined to minimize the internal optical losses. Mesa-strip diode lasers with a threshold density of current Jth=150–200 A/cm2, internal optical loss factor αi=1.6–1.9 cm−1, and an internal quantum yield ηi=85–95% were fabricated. In the continuous lasing mode of a diode laser with a 100-µm-wide aperture and a wavelength of 0.98 µm, the optical power output was as high as 6.5 W and was limited by the catastrophic optical degradation of mirrors. The radiation divergence in the plane normal to the p-n junction amounts to θ⊥. The use of wide-gap waveguide layers, which deepens the potential electron well in the active region, is shown to reduce the temperature sensitivity of the InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs laser heterostructures in the temperature range from 0 to 70°C.