In this work, a novel self-aligned process utilizing non-selective, O2-enhanced wet thermal oxidation is presented for
fabricating InP-based, ridge waveguide mid-infrared (λ=5.4 μm) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) with a straincompensated,
30-stage (1.53 μm thick) InGaAs/AlInAs active region, grown via metal organic chemical vapor
deposition. This process, previously used in GaAs-based diode lasers containing low-Al content AlGaAs or even Alfree
III-As alloys, forms a highly-insulating native oxide layer while simultaneously smoothing and passivating the etchexposed
active region, resulting in low-loss, strongly-confining waveguides. Here we report the first application of this
process for directly oxidizing the deeply-etched QCL InGaAs/AlInAs active region ridge waveguide sidewalls and field
(outside the ridge), eliminating the need for a deposited dielectric for electrical isolation, thus allowing self-aligned
device fabrication. An 8 hour, 500 °C wet oxidation with 7000 ppm added O2 (relative to N2 carrier gas) yields a
uniform oxide of ~350 nm in the field outside the ridge to ~500 nm on the ridge sidewall. Laser devices tested under
room temperature, pulsed excitation exhibit a threshold current density of Jth~3.2 kA/cm2 for a 19.5 μm wide x 3 mm
long stripe width.
The use of the non-selective, O2-enhanced wet thermal oxidation of deep-etched sidewalls in GaAs-based
heterostructures has enabled the fabrication of low-loss, high-index-contrast ridge waveguides suitable for ring resonator
laser devices. In a self-aligned process, the grown native oxide simultaneously provides excellent electrical insulation,
passivation of the etch-exposed bipolar active region, and smoothing of etch roughness. The resulting strong lateral
optical confinement at the semiconductor/oxide interface has enabled half-racetrack ring resonator (R3) lasers with bend
radii r as small as 6 μm. In this work we have experimentally characterized the loss due to the mode mismatch at the
straight to curved waveguide transition from analysis of efficiency data of half-R3 lasers with multiple cavity lengths.
Using an 808 nm InAlGaAs graded-index separate confinement heterostructure, the transition losses are extracted from
an inverse efficiency 1/ηd vs. length L plot for half-R3 lasers with r=150, 100, 50, 25 and 10 μm and 3 different ridge
widths, w. The round trip transition loss ranges from 11.5 to 37.0 dB (for w=7.3 μm), 6.7 to 27.0 dB (w=4.2 μm), and
1.8 to 16.2 dB (w=2.1 μm) with decreasing radii, showing a clear decrease with width and corresponding improved
mode overlap in the transition region. Simulation results elucidate the role of mode mismatch vs. radiative bend loss in
high-index-contrast racetrack ring resonator lasers. We demonstrate a full-ring laser having a tangential stripe output
coupler guide fabricated via e-beam lithography and non-selective oxidation with a threshold current density of 719
A/cm2 for an r=150 μm, w=6 μm ring.
A nonselective wet thermal oxidation technique for AlGaAs-containing heterostructures has been shown to enable the
fabrication of a variety of novel high-efficiency, high-power GaAs-based in-plane laser devices. Applied in conjunction
with a deep anisotropic dry etch, nonselective oxidation yields a simple, self-aligned high-index-contrast (HIC) ridge
waveguide (RWG) structure. The native oxide grown directly on the waveguide ridge simultaneously provides excellent
electrical insulation, passivation of the etch-exposed bipolar active region, and a low refractive index cladding, leading
to numerous laser performance benefits. The resulting strong lateral optical confinement at the semiconductor/oxide
interface (with refractive index contrast &Dgr;n~1.7) enables half-racetrack ring resonator lasers with a record small 6 &mgr;m
bend radius. A nearly circularly-symmetric output beam is demonstrated on narrow w=1.4 &mgr;m aperture width straight
stripe-geometry lasers with single spatial and longitudinal mode total power output of ~180 mW at 228 mA (9x
threshold). With the complete structural elimination of lateral current spreading, the excellent overlap of the optical field
with the gain region provides high slope efficiency performance (ranging from >1.0 W/A at w=1.4 &mgr;m to 1.3 W/A for
w=150 &mgr;m broad area stripes) for 300 K cw operation of unbonded, p-side up 808 nm InAlGaAs graded-index separate
confinement heterostructure (GRINSCH) active region lasers. Using the direct thermal oxidation of a dilute nitride
GaAsP/InGaAsN MQW active region, 1.3 &mgr;m emission GaAs-based HIC RWG lasers exhibit a >2X threshold reduction
and kink-free operation relative to conventional low-confinement devices. Other recent progress on the application of
nonselective oxidation to GaAs-based semiconductor lasers will be reported.
A novel means of realizing optical logic with passive silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide elements is proposed and modeled. Using what we call interference logic (IL), information is encoded and manipulated in the complex domain by properly setting the amplitude and phase of information inputs through specially designed waveguide structures, with the resulting wave interference used to compute the desired function output. We demonstrate that any arbitrary Boolean logic function can be realized in any physical system in which interference occurs. In this work, optical interference logic utilizing constructive and destructive interference of 1.55 micron light waves in multi-mode interference (MMI) couplers fabricated with SOI rib waveguides is described. Defining a vector representation of the complex information, a numerical function minimization algorithm is employed to compute the optimum input vector manipulations needed to realize a given operation's truth table. As such, with the definition of an output amplitude detection threshold separating "0" and "1" results, logic operations can be performed. A digital 2 x 1 multiplexer (MUX) is implemented in a single 4 x 1 MMI coupler where 1 of the 4 inputs serves as a reference input beam. With an input spacing of 40 micron, the 2 x 1 multiplexer has an overall dimension of 160 micron x 2.25 cm. Simple varied-dimension waveguide elements are used to adjust input wave amplitude and phase. To confirm and optimize the designs, device operation is simulated using 2D beam propagation method (BPM).
Er-doped waveguide amplifiers (EDWA) require high doping levels due to their length limit of a few to tens of cm, making the host selection of great importance to avoid deleterious high concentration effects. The wet thermal oxides of InAlP (lattice matched to GaAs) are phosphate rich, making them an attractive rare earth host for EDWAs where monolithic integration of pump lasers may be possible. InAlP epilayers are partially oxidized in water vapor (4 h, 500°C). Er-implantation (300 keV, 1015 cm-2 total dose) performed either before or after growth of the 300 nm thick oxide
results in a peak Er concentration of ~1020 cm-3. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) characterization shows broad (61 nm FWHM) emission with a long 8 ms lifetime. We present a comparison of PL characteristics of Er-doped InAlP and AlGaAs native oxides, and results of rapid thermal processor (RTP) annealing studies for host optimization. At 683°C, the 3 sec optimal annealing time for post-oxidation-implanted samples is notably shorter than that of the preoxidation-implanted samples (20 sec), indicating less thermal energy is required for Er. A spectral line shape change is also observed for the post-oxidation-implanted samples when over-annealed, indicating a host phase change and local environment change for Er ions. For both post- and pre-oxidation-implanted samples, PL lifetimes remain near 8 ms after RTP annealing over the entire temperature range of 500°C to 800°C, indicating minimal Er clustering and suggesting that even higher Er concentrations, desirable for increased EDWA gain, are possible.
A simple, novel self-aligned deep etch plus wet thermal oxidization process is demonstrated which enables high-index-contrast (HIC) ridge waveguide (RWG) lasers fabricated in a high-efficiency, high-power AlGaAs/InAlGaAs/GaAs graded-index separate confinement heterostructure to operate with a curved half-ring resonator geometry having a bend radius as low as 10 μm. A wet thermal oxidation process modified through addition of <1% O2 to the N2 carrier gas is shown to smooth the sidewall roughness of etched AlGaAs ridge structures 10-100 fold as the oxidation front progresses inward. The reduction of propagation scattering loss due to the reduced sidewall roughness is examined. The thermal oxide grown on the deeply-etched RWG sidewalls and base also provides electrical isolation from the contact metallization, resulting in a simplified, self-aligned process, and yields a RWG structure which effectively prevents current spreading. The thermal oxide appears to be of sufficiently high quality to passivate the etched active region surface based on a comparative analysis of straight RWG lasers of varying stripe widths (w=5 to 150 μm) passivated with native-oxide vs. PECVD-deposited SiO2. For example, at w<15 μm, the SiO2-insulated devices have ~2X higher threshold current densities than the native-oxide devices for comparable bar lengths. The resulting high lateral optical confinement factor at the semiconductor/oxide interface (Δn=1.69) significantly enhances the laser gain and efficiency. A native-oxide-defined straight laser (w=7 μm, L= 452 μm) operates cw (300 K, unbonded, p-side up) with a threshold current of Ith=21.5 mA (Jth=679.5 A/cm2) and slope efficiency of 1.19 A/W (differential quantum efficiency = 78%) at a wavelength of ~813 nm.
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