EFFECT OF VARYING BARRIER HEIGHT ON THE OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF 1.3-MU-M STRAINED-LAYER MQW LASERS

This paper presents an empirical study of the effects that barrier lay er composition has on the operational characteristics of 1,3-mu m-wave length InGaAsP-InP multiquantum-well (MQW) strained-layer ridge-wavegu ide lasers, A systematic empirical investigation of how this design ch oice affects practical device operation was undertaken by examining th reshold current, efficiency, and modal gain as a function of temperatu re in five different laser structures. The results of these studies in dicate that small barrier heights improve device performance, despite the loss of electronic confinement in the shallow conduction band quan tum wells. Indeed, it appears that carrier uniformity in the MQW struc ture may be improved by carrier redistribution due to thermal or tunne ling effects, which in turn enhances the operation of the low barrier height structures.