Semiconductor microcavity light-emitting structures

Igor Vurgaftman; Jasprit Singh

doi:10.1117/12.206897

24 April 1995 Semiconductor microcavity light-emitting structures

Igor Vurgaftman, Jasprit Singh

Proceedings Volume 2397, Optoelectronic Integrated Circuit Materials, Physics, and Devices; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.206897
Event: Photonics West '95, 1995, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Over the last decade considerable advances have been made in the area of semiconductor lasers as a result of tailoring the electronic structure of the active medium. This has been accomplished through the use of quantum confinement and built-in strain. There has been less emphasis on altering the photonic properties to improve laser performance. In this paper we examine the potential of a surface-emitting microcavity structure with submicron lateral dimensions for improving laser performance. We find that as the lateral dimensions are decreased, the photon density of states starts to change. In particular, strongly resonant states associated with Bragg reflection begin to dominate the photon spectrum. By placing the resonance peak close to the gain peak in the active quantum well region, a number of laser properties can be altered. The dimensions at which the changes start to be significant is about (lambda) /n_a, where n_a is the refractive index of the active region. A study of how the threshold current, dynamic characteristics and laser linewidth change as a function of the microcavity dimensions is presented. Our studies show that the spontaneous emission factor (beta) approaches a value of approximately equals 0.5 for small structures with high mirror reflectivities. This in turn results in essentially zero threshold lasing for a microcavity with lateral dimensions < 0.3 micrometers (for emission at 1.3 eV). The laser linewidth increases as (beta) decreases, but the increase is not proportional to (beta) , and even for small structures, the linewidth is expected to be in the range of 100 MHz to 1 GHz, which may be adequate for many applications. The -3 dB response of the 0.3 micrometers laser exceeds 40 GHz.

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Igor Vurgaftman and Jasprit Singh "Semiconductor microcavity light-emitting structures", Proc. SPIE 2397, Optoelectronic Integrated Circuit Materials, Physics, and Devices, (24 April 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.206897

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KEYWORDS

Optical microcavities

Polarization

Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

Laser damage threshold

Quantum wells

Electrons

Modulation

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