Influence of Spacer Thickness on the Optical Properties of Vertically Stacked InP/AlGaInP Quantum Dot Lasers at the Short Wavelength

Abstract

Quantum dot (QD) based semiconductor lasers are the widely used sources in many applications. The unique advantages are their low threshold current density, high characteristic temperature, and high differential material gain, owning to their discrete energy levels. The self-assembled InP QDs in the (AlxGai-x)0.5iIn0.49P (AlxGaInP) barriers are of great interests due to the emitting spectrum from 630 nm to 780 nm [1]. However, limited by the low QD density, the low energy state density, and the small optical confinement factor, a single-sheet of QD only can provide a lower optical modal gain in the laser structure, which limits the laser performances. Meanwhile, the weak charge carrier confinement of the AlGaInP material further makes the devices sensitive to the operation temperature. One of the solutions for above issues is to increase the QD density by vertically stacking the QD layers. In the stacked QDs, the spacer thickness between the QD layers is one of the critical parameters needed to be carefully considered [2].