Performance characteristics of low threshold current 1.25-μm type-II GaInAs/GaAsSb W-lasers for optical communications

Type-II “W”-lasers have made an important contribution to the development of mid-infrared laser diodes. In this paper, we show that a similar approach can yield high performance lasers in the optical communications wavelength range. (GaIn)As/Ga(AsSb) type-II “W” structures emitting at 1255nm have been realised on a GaAs substrate and exhibit low room temperature threshold current densities of 200-300 A cm-2, pulsed output powers exceeding 1 W for 100μm wide stripes, and a characteristic temperature T0 ≈90K around room temperature. Optical gain studies indicate a high modal gain around 15-23 cm-1 at 200-300 Acm-2 and low optical losses of 8±3 cm. Analysis of the spontaneous emission indicates that at room temperature, up to 24% of the threshold current is due to radiative recombination, with the remaining current due to other thermally activated non-radiative processes. The observed decrease in differential quantum efficiency with increasing temperature suggests that this is primarily due to a carrier leakage process. The impact of these processes is discussed in terms of the potential for further device optimisation. Our results present strong figures of merit for near- infrared type-II laser diodes and indicate significant potential for their applications in optical communications.

Published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, June 2021, https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ac0b72.