Low threshold current vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers grown at a fixed temperature

Abstract We report a successive growth of low threshold current GaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers by molecular beam epitaxy at a constant substrate temperature which is compromised for both InGaAs and AlGaAs materials. The layer thickness in the whole device structure, including the active region consisting of three quantum wells, n-type and p-type distributed bragg reflectors, can be monitored and controlled by using a system including an infrared pyrometer during growth. It is demonstrated that the multiple quantum well laser devices grown under such conditions show an threshold current as low as 700 μA from an etched squire of 15×15 μm 2 , about 310 Acm −2 , at room temperature continuous wave operation, and a maximum output power of 800 μW at a lasing wavelength of 945 nm.