480 nm InGaN-based cyan laser diode grown on Si by interface engineering of active region

Abstract

InGaN-based long wavelength laser diodes (LDs) grown on Si are highly desirable for expanding the applications in laser display and lighting. Proper interface engineering of high In-content InGaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) is urgently required for the epitaxial growth of InGaN-based long wavelength LD on Si, because the deteriorated interfaces and crystalline quality of InGaN MQWs can severely increase the photon scattering and further exacerbate the internal absorption loss of LDs, which prevents the lasing wavelength of InGaN-based LDs from extending. In this work, a significantly improved morphology and sharp interface of the InGaN active region are obtained by using a graded-compositional InGaN lower waveguide (LWG) capped with a 10-nm-thick Al0.1Ga0.9N layer. The V-pits density of the InGaN LWG was one order of magnitude reduction from 4.8 × 108 to 3.6 × 107 cm-2 along with the root-mean-square surface roughness decreasing from 0.3 to 0.1 nm. Therefore, a room-temperature electrically injected 480 nm InGaN-based cyan LD grown on Si under pulsed current operation was successfully achieved with a threshold current density of 18.3 kA/cm2.