High-power light-emitting diodes operating in the 1.9 to 2.1-mu m spectralrange

Light-emitting diodes (LED's) operating in the spectral range 1.9-2.1 mu m have been fabricated by liquid-phase epitaxy on the basis of AlGaAsSb/GaInA sSb double heterostructures with a high Al (64%) content in the wide-gap re gions. The design of the LED makes it possible to locate the active region near the heat-removal elements of the housing, and pass the light through t he GaSb substrate, which is completely unshielded by the contact. The LED's are investigated in the quasi-continuous (CW) regime and pulsed regime at room temperature. The optical power of the LED's possesses a linear current dependence over a wide range of currents. A CW optical power as high as 4. 6 mW and a peak optical power of 190 mW in the pulsed regime were achieved at room temperature. It is shown that the transition from linear to subline ar current dependence of the optical power is governed by Auger recombinati on in the pulsed regime at pulse durations as low as 5 mu s. (C) 1999 Ameri can Institute of Physics. [S1063-7826(99)01602-6].