V-Grooved [formula omitted] quantum wire laser array confined by junction-isolation stripes

Abstract

A new GaAs AlGaAs quantum wire laser array (QWLA) confined by p- n junction-isolation stripes is reported. The QWLA is fabricated with 1.5 μm wide stripe-channels through the quantum wire (QWR) active regions using two-step MOCVD growth with a wet etching technique. Prior to the device fabrication, active channel- and leakage-current are calculated using a d.c. equivalent circuit to quantitatively estimate the current-confinement effect. QWLA consisting of 10 QWRs has currently demonstrated a maximum output power as high as 18.2 mW at 385 mA and a threshold current density as low as 0.23 kA m −2 facet −1 under room temperature pulsed operation.