InGaAs/GaAs strained quantum wire lasers grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition on nonplanar substrates

Abstract

The structure and device characteristics of InGaAs/GaAs strained quantum wire (QWR) lasers grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition on 0.25-μm pitch periodic corrugations are reported. The crescent-shaped InGaAs wires, 14–17 nm thick and 70–80 nm in full width, are formed in situ due to surface diffusion of In and Ga species to the bottom of the grating grooves. Room-temperature pulsed operation has been achieved with threshold current densities of 1.9 kA/cm2 for 1.1 mm long lasers with uncoated facets. For laser stripes aligned perpendicular to the wires, the lasing wavelength remains almost constant at 920 nm for temperatures 80<T<150 K due to second-order Bragg reflection from the QWR array. The possibility of achieving gain-coupled distributed feedback using the periodic gain modulation in these devices is discussed.