Broad optical bandwidth InGaAs-InA1GaAs light-emitting diodes fabricated using a laser annealing process

The use of a laser-induced quantum-well intermixing technique in the InGaAs -InAlGaAs material system is presented. We report blue shifts of up to 240 nm in the 1.55-mu m emission wavelength, generated by exposure to a Nd:YAG laser. Variations in the optical intensity across the irradiating beam were used to laterally grade the bandgap along a sample. We used this technique to fabricate broad optical bandwidth, light-emitting diodes. The devices s howed an increase in the full width half maximum of the emission spectrum f rom 125 nm in undisordered devices to over 260 mm in intermixed material. T he output spectrum was also observed to be flat-topped (within 5%) across a wavelength range of 140 nm.