Planar-buried-heterostructure laser diodes with oxidized AlAs insulating current blocking

We have proposed and demonstrated a novel planar-buried-heterostructure las er diode that includes oxidized AlAs current blocking layers exhibiting the overall lasing performance improvement. Superior current blocking characte ristics of the insulating layers significantly improve maximum output power compared to a conventional buried heterostructure with a p-n-p-n thyristor configuration. A forward breakover at the current blocking layers was not observed at an injection current of more than 1 A for a 300-mu m-long devic e with both cleaved facets. The excellent lasing performance at a threshold current of 6 mA, a slope efficiency of 0.51 W/A under continuous-wave cond itions, and a maximum output power of up to 150 mW under pulsed conditions was also demonstrated.