The relationship between the exciton density and material gain in an Alq(3)
:DCM organic semiconductor laser material is estimated by a comparison betw
een published experimental data and the results of a static analysis of org
anic semiconductor distributed feedback lasers. The gain coefficient for an
Alq(3):DCM laser material operating at 640 nm is estimated to be of order
1 x 10(-18) cm(2). This value is used to perform a threshold current optimi
sation of a double heterostructure (DH) organic semiconductor laser utilisi
ng a substrate grating for distributed feedback. It is found that the thres
hold current density can be reduced by approximately 35% by such an optimis
ation. The minimum threshold current density for a 2 cm long device is esti
mated to be about 50A cm(-2.)