HIGH-PERFORMANCE 1.3-MU-M ALGAINAS INP STRAINED-QUANTUM-WELL LASERS GROWN BY ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION/

In this paper, we show that by using the AlGaInAs/InP instead of the G aInAsP/InP materials system, 1.3 mu m lasers with excellent high tempe rature performance can be fabricated, and report on the optimization o f the growth conditions. Compressive strained five-quantum-well AlGaIn As/InP lasers showed only a 0.3 dB change in differential quantum effi ciency for a temperature change from 25 to 100 degrees C and a large s mall-signal modulation bandwidth of 8.6 GHz even at 85 degrees C. Tens ile-strained three-quantum-well lasers exhibited a 0.63 dB change in d ifferential quantum efficiency for a temperature change from 25 to 100 degrees C. At a heat sink temperature of 25 degrees C the maximum 3 d B modulation bandwidth, limited by heating, was 19.6 GHz for compressi ve-strained lasers and 17 GHz for tensile-strained lasers. In spite of the Al-containing active layer, no catastrophic optical damage was ob served at room temperature up to the highest powers obtained, 218 mW f or the compressive and 103 mW for the tensile strained lasers. Prelimi nary life tests indicated that these lasers are at least as reliable a s conventional GaInAsP/InP lasers, with the mean-time-to-failure being 110 years at 85 degrees C. These data indicate that AlGaInAs/InP lase rs are attractive for uncooled and low-cost applications, such as fibe r-in-the-loop (FITL).