Examples of Semiconductor
Lasers
Quantum well lasers
Advanced lasers: Quantum dot lasers
Next time: Advanced lasers
QCLs
Single mode lasers
DFB lasers
VCSELs
Reminder from last lecture: Design considerations for laser
diode performance
Low threshold current
low threshold can be generated by electronic devices which can be modulated at
high speed to provide a high speed modulation in the output
(1) reducing the active layer thickness
Quantum-Well (~ 50 - 100 ), Strained Quantum-Well
(2) cavity design
Lateral confinement
reduce the lateral dimension of the Fabry-Perot cavity
(1) Stripe geometry (Gain-guided cavity)
(2) Buried heterostructures
Selective Optical Cavity
to reduce the laser linewidth
(1) Distributed Feedback (DFB) structures
(2) Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs)
Evolution of the threshold current of the semiconductor lasers
Quantum Well Laser
Constant 2D density of states
means a large concentration of
electrons can easily occur at E1
(and holes at the minimum
valence band energy)
Population inversion occurs
quickly without the need for a
large current to bring a large
number of electrons
Benefits: Threshold current
reduced, linewidth is narrower
Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) Laser
Several single quantum wells are coupled
into a multiple quantum well (MQW)
structure.
The significantly reduced temperature
sensitivity of MQW lasers has been related
to the staircase density of states distribution
and the distributed electron and photon
distributions of the active region.
The optical confinement helps to contain
the otherwise large losses from a narrow
active region, leading to low threshold
currents.
Bandgap engineering: Visible-UV-IR range
Red QW Laser Diode
Diagram of red GaInP DQW laser
Diagram showing the alloy composition through the layer structure of a two-well,
separate confinement (AlyGa1y)In1xP quantum well laser. The vertical distance axis is
not to scale: the wells are each about 6.5 nm wide, the y=0.5 waveguide core is about
200 nm thick, and the cladding layers are each about 1 m thick.
Violet QW Laser Diode
Diagram of deep violet InGaN DQW laser
structures
From: Performance enhancement of deep violet indium gallium nitride
double quantum well lasers using delta barrier close to electron blocking
layer, J. Nanophoton. 2012;6(1):063514-1-063514-12.
doi:10.1117/1.JNP.6.063514.
Modes: longitudinal and transverse
Longitudinal modes
Transverse modes
Laser waveguides design for
transverse confinement
Vertical confinement
Lateral confinement
Gain-guided
Index guided: ridges, ribs
Buried heterostructure lasers
Vertical confinement
Graded Index Separate Confinement Heterostructure
(GRINSCH) Laser
GRaded INdex Separate
Confinement Heterostructure
(GRINSCH) Laser
A narrower carrier confinement
region (d) of high recombination is
separated from a wider optical
waveguide region
Optical confinement can be
optimized without affecting the
carrier confinement
GRINSCH-SQW and
GRINSCH-MQW
The threshold current for a
GRINSCH is much lower than that
of a DH laser
GRINSCH Laser
Lateral confinement
Efficient operation of a laser diode requires
reducing the # of lateral modes,
stabilizing the gain for lateral modes as well as
lowering the threshold current.
These are met by structures that confine the optical wave, carrier
concentration and current flow in the lateral direction.
Important types of laser diodes are: gain-guided, positive index
guided, and negative index guided.
Gain guided: optical gain is highest where current density is
greatest
Stripe contact increases current
density in the active region.
The widths of the active region or
the optical gain region is defined
by current density from the stripe
Cleaved reflecting surface
W
Stripe electrode
Oxide insulator
p -GaAs (Contacting layer)
p -Al x Ga 1-x As (Confining layer)
p -GaAs (Active layer)
n -Al x Ga 1-x As (Confining layer)
n -GaAs (Substrate)
2
1
Current
paths
Substrate
Elliptical
laser
beam
Substrate
Electrode
Cleaved reflecting surface
Active region where
(Emission region)
J > J t h.
Schematic illustration of the the structure of a double heterojunction stripe
contact laser diode
1999 S.O. Kasap,
Optoelectronics
(Prentice Hall)
Ridge laser
Index guided: optical power confined to waveguide
Electrode
Oxide insulation
+
p -AlGaAs (Contacting layer)
p -AlGaAs (Confining layer)
n- AlGaAs
p -GaAs (Active layer)
n -AlGaAs (Confining layer)
n -GaAs (Substrate)
Schematic illustration of the cross sectional structure of a buried
heterostructure laser diode.
1999 S.O. Kasap,
Optoelectronics
(Prentice Hall)
Active layer is surrounded by lower index AlGaAs and behaves like a dielectric
waveguide
Ensures that photons are confined to the active or optical gain region
Increases rate of stimulated emission
Buried heterostructure laser
Laser Diodes (temperature characteristics)
The output characteristics of an LD are sensitive to
temperature.
=>As temperature increases threshold current increases
exponentially.
Output spectrum also changes.
A single mode LD will mode hop (jump to a different
mode) at certain temperatures.
This results in a change of laser oscillation wavelength.
increases slowly due to small change in refractive index
and cavity length.
Po (mW)
10
0 C
25 C
50 C
6
4
2
I (mA)
0
20
40
60
80
Output optical power vs. diode current as three different temperatures. The
threshold current shifts to higher temperatures.
1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
Single mode
788
(a)
Single mode
(b)
(c)
786
o
(nm)
Multimode
784
782
780
Mode hopping
778
776
20
30
50 20
40
Case temperature ( C)
30
50 20
40
Case temperature ( C)
30
40
50
Case temperature ( C)
Peak wavelength vs. case temperature characteristics. (a) Mode hops in the output
spectrum of a single mode LD. (b) Restricted mode hops and none over the temperature
range of interest (20 - 40 C). (c) Output spectrum from a multimode LD.
1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
Laser Diodes (temperature characteristics)
Remedies if mode hopping is undesirable:
1. Adjust device structure.
2. Implement thermoelectric (TE) cooler.
Gain guided LDs inherently have many modes therefore the
wavelength vs. temperature behaviour tends to follow
the bandgap (optical gain curve as opposed to the cavity
properties).
Advanced semiconductor lasers
Quantum dot (QD) lasers
Evolution of the threshold current of the semiconductor lasers
0-D (Quantum dot): An artificial atom
Areal density:
( E ) ( E Ei )
Ei
Theoretical quantum dots
(a) Structure of a 4nm-high, 10
nm-wide hexagonal GaN
quantum dot embedded in
AlN.
(b) Profile of the conduction
band edge.
(c) Maps of the dot electron
ground state,
(d) Map of the first excited
state.
In Stranki-Krastanov growth of QDs: strain-mediated
intra- and inter-layer interactions between the QDs
Aligned
array of
GaN QDs in
AlN
QDL Predicted Advantages
Wavelength of light determined by the energy
levels not by bandgap energy:
improved performance & increased flexibility
to adjust the wavelength
Maximum material gain and differential gain
Small volume:
low power high frequency operation
large modulation bandwidth
Superior temperature stability of I threshold
I threshold (T) = I threshold (T ref).exp ((T-(T ref))/ (T 0))
High T 0 decoupling electron-phonon interaction
by increasing the intersubband separation.
Undiminished room-temperature performance
without external thermal stabilization
Suppressed diffusion of non-equilibrium
carriers Reduced leakage
QDL Basic characteristics
An ideal QDL consists of a 3D-array of dots with equal size and shape
Surrounded by a higher band-gap material
confines the injected carriers.
Embedded in an optical waveguide
Consists lower and upper cladding layers (n-doped and p-doped shields)
Edge emitting QDL
http://qdlaser.com/
QDL Application Requirements
Same energy level
Size, shape and alloy composition of QDs close to identical
Inhomogeneous broadening eliminated real
concentration of energy states obtained
High density of interacting QDs
Macroscopic physical parameter light output
Reduction of non-radiative centers
Problem for nanostructures made by high-energy beam
patterning since damage occurs during fabrication
Electrical control
Electric field applied can change physical properties of QDs
Carriers can be injected to create light emission
Comparison of QD Laser with
QW laser
http://qdlaser.com/
QD Laser vs. QW Laser
Comparison of efficiency: QWL vs. QDL
Bottlenecks
First, the lack of uniformity.
Quantum Dots density is
insufficient
the lack of correlation
between QDs
FWHM = 20-30 meV
Singledot
EnsembleofQDs
Breakthroughs
Fujitsu
TemperatureIndependentQDlaser
2004
Fujitsu's quantum dot laser fires data at
25Gbps (2010)
Temperature dependence of light-current characteristics
Breakthroughs
InP instead of GaAs
Can operate on ground state for much shorter cavity length
High T0 is achieved
First buried DFB DWELL operating at 10Gb/s in 1.55um range
Surprising narrow linewidth-brings a good phase noise and timejitter when the laser is actively mode locked
Alcatel Thales IIIV Laboratory,
France
2006
High-Performance Quantum Dot Lasers and Integrated
Optoelectronics on Si
Market demand of QD lasers
Microwave/Millimeter wave transmission with optical fibers
Optics
Datacom network
Telecom network
QD Lasers
Promising properties
High speed
quantum dot lasers
Advantages
Directly Modulated Quantum
Dot Lasers
Datacom
Mode-Locked Quantum Dot
Lasers
Short
InP Based Quantum Dot
Lasers
Low
application
Rate of 10Gb/s
optical pulses
Narrow spectral width
Broad gain spectrum
Very low factor-low chirp
emission wavelength
Wide temperature range
Used for data transmission
Promising properties
High power
Advantages
Quantum Dot lasers
QD lasers for
Coolerless Pump
Sources
Size
reduced
quantum dot
Single Mode Tapered
Lasers
Small
wave length
shift
Temperature
insensitivity
Future Directions
Widening parameters
range
to
Further controlling the
position and dot size
using
Decouple the carrier
capture from the escape
procedure
by
Combination of QD
lasers and QW lasers
Reduce inhomogeneous
linewidth broadening
Surface Preparation
Technology
Allowing the injection of
cooled carriers
In term of
Raised gain at the
fundamental transition energy
Conclusions: QD Laser vs. QW Laser
In order for QD lasers compete with QW lasers:
A large array of QDs since their active volume is small
An array with a narrow size distribution has to be produced to
reduce inhomogeneous broadening
Array has to be without defects
may degrade the optical emission by providing alternate
nonradiative defect channels
The phonon bottleneck created by confinement limits the
number of states that are efficiently coupled by phonons due to
energy conservation
Limits the relaxation of excited carriers into lasing states
Causes degradation of stimulated emission
Other mechanisms can be used to suppress that bottleneck effect
(e.g. Auger interactions)
