High-power operation of strained InGaAs/AlGaAs single quantum well lasers

Abstract

The high-power integrity of strained single quantum well InGaAs/AlGaAs lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated. In the high-power regime, the lifetime of the Lz=7 nm strained quantum well laser emitting at ≅ 980 nm is found to be limited by the air-cleaved facets. However, a comparison with lattice-matched 7 nm quantum well GaAs/AlGaAs lasers, which otherwise have an almost identical vertical structure shows a substantial lifetime improvement. This indicates that lattice hardening due to the indium in the quantum well is effective in the facet region. The investigations demonstrate the feasibility of 150 mW single mode operation with sufficient lifetime for practical applications in the wavelength range of ≅1 μm.