Thermally dependent gain of 1.3 µm dilute nitride double quantum well lasers

Abstract

AbstractA systematic study of the dependence of the optical gain on the injection current and temperature in InGaAsN/GaAs lasers has been performed. The amplified spontaneous emission has been measured from a series of both facet‐coated and uncoated 1.3 μm edge‐emitting double quantum well lasers. The net gain, modal gain, cavity loss, quasi‐Fermi level separation and width of the gain spectra have been extracted using Cassidy's method. The peak gain was found to shift 0.41 nm/K between 300 K and 340 K and 0.60 nm/K between 340 K and 380 K. The value of the peak gain was found to decrease with temperature at a rate of 0.26 cm−1/K. The increase in the full at width half maxima of the gain spectra was determined to be 0.35 nm/K. These values are all comparable to those found for the more traditional 1.3 μm InP‐based devices, suggesting that InGaAsN/GaAs lasers are a viable alternative to replace such InP‐based devices, in particular for uncooled access network applications. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)