Strong 1.3–1.6μm light emission from metamorphic InGaAs quantum wells on GaAs

Abstract

We demonstrate strong 1.3–1.6μm photoluminescence (PL) from InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown on alloy graded InGaAs buffer layers on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. The epistructures show quite smooth surfaces with an average surface roughness less than 2nm. The PL intensity is comparable with those from InAs quantum dots and InGaAs QWs on GaAs, and InGaAsP QWs on InP at similar wavelengths, but stronger than those from GaInNAs QWs (at least 10 times higher at around 1.5–1.6μm). The excellent optical quality implies that the metamorphic approach could be a promising alternative to GaInNAs(Sb) QWs for 1.55μm lasers on GaAs.