Design and Modeling of 2-5 um Quantum Confinement Lasers of InAs/GaInAs/InP

This program will model various laser structures with 1, 2, and 3-dimensional carrier confinement in the InAs/GaInAs/InP material system. The innovative choice of this system is based on the fact that it is relatively easy to grow. The GaInAs/InP system is widely used for fabricating 1.3 um and 1.55 um LEDs, lasers and detectors for tele-communication applications. The addition of an InAs strained layer is easily achieved, provides the device designer with great design freedom and leads to a structure which emits radiaiton in the 2-3 um spectral region at 300K. The only other III-V compound semiconductor material capable of emitting in the 2-3 um spectral region at 300K is the complez quaternary Sb-contraining GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb/GaSb system, and because it is nto commonly used, miscibility gaps make it difficult to grow and requires GaSb substrates; these are not widely available and have a low melting temperature. In Phase I the optimum strained GaInAs/InP system will be identified. The in Phase II, actual growth of the InAs/GaInAs/InP epitaxial structures by the widely-used MOCVD technology will be carried out. Strained quantum well lasers will then be fabricated in a variety of 1, 2, and 3-dimensional confinement configurations. Such multi-dimensional confinement structures in these long-wavelength materials are expected ot exhibit improved 300K device characteristics because of reduced Auger recombination effects.