HIGH-RELIABILITY BLUE-SHIFTED INGAASP INP LASERS/

InGaAsP/InP quantum well (QW) ridge waveguide lasers emitting nominall y at 1310 nm have been ''blue-shifted'' selectively (as much as 70 nm) on a full 50-mm-diameter wafer after growth. P+ ion implantation at 1 MeV, 200 degrees C through a variable thickness SiO2 mask was used to induce various degrees of QW intermixing after postimplantation annea ling at 700 degrees C. Irrespective of the amount of intermixing induc ed (blue shift), all fabricated devices exhibited 20-25 mA lasing thre shold current and 0.25-0.30 W/A differential quantum efficiency. Devic e reliability was equivalent to standard (nonimplanted) lasers when th e wavelength shift was 35 nm or less, corresponding to predicted lifet ime in excess of 25 years while operating cw at 25 degrees C. The perf ormance and reliability data clearly indicate that the concentration o f residual defects introduced in the active region by the implantation /annealing process is negligibly small. The present results, which are a product of a straightforward fabrication process, suggest the possi bility of manufacturing high-reliability, low-cost, monolithically int egrated optoelectronic chips containing, for example, selectively tune d lasers, optical amplifiers, modulators, and waveguides. (C) 1996 Ame rican Institute of Physics.