Publications

Abstract not provided.

Gain properties of GaInNAs lasers with different nitrogen concentrations in the quantum wells are investigated experimentally and theoretically. Whereas nitrogen incorporation induces appreciable modifications in the spectral extension and the carrier density dependence of the gain, it is found that the linewidth enhancement factor is reduced by inclusion of nitrogen, but basically unaffected by different nitrogen content due to the balancing between gain and index changes. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Materials studies of high Al-content (> 30%) AlGaN epilayers and the performance of AlGaN-based LEDs with emission wavelengths shorter than 300 nm are reported. N-type AlGaN films with Al compositions greater than 30% reveal a reduction in conductivity with increasing Al composition. The reduction of threading dislocation density from the 1-5 x10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} range to the 6-9 x 10{sup 9}cm{sup -2} range results in an improvement of electrical conductivity and Al{sub 0.90}Ga{sub 0.10}N films with n= 1.6e17 cm-3 and f{acute Y}=20 cm2/Vs have been achieved. The design, fabrication and packaging of flip-chip bonded deep UV LEDs is described. Large area (1 mm x 1 mm) LED structures with interdigitated contacts demonstrate output powers of 2.25 mW at 297 nm and 1.3 mW at 276 nm when operated under DC current. 300 f{acute Y}m x 300 f{acute Y}m LEDs emitting at 295 nm and operated at 20 mA DC have demonstrated less than 50% drop in output power after more than 2400 hours of operation. Optimization of the electron block layer in 274 nm LED structures has enabled a significant reduction in deep level emission bands, and a peak quantum well to deep level ratio of 700:1 has been achieved for 300 f{acute Y}m x 300 f{acute Y}m LEDs operated at 100 mA DC. Shorter wavelength LED designs are described, and LEDs emitting at 260 nm, 254nm and 237 nm are reported.

This paper investigates theoretically the modification of dynamical properties in a semiconductor laser by a strong injected signal. It is found that enhanced relaxation oscillations are governed by the pulsations of the intracavity field and population at frequencies determined by the injected field and cavity resonances. Furthermore, the bandwidth enhancement is associated with the undamping of the injection-induced relaxation oscillation and strong population pulsation effects. There are two limitations to the modulation-bandwidth enhancement: Overdamping of relaxation oscillation and degradation of flat response at low frequencies. The injected-laser rate-equations used in the investigation reproduce the relevant aspects of modulation-bandwidth enhancement found in the experiment on injection-locked vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

A theory is presented which couples a dynamical laser model to a fully microscopic calculation of scattering effects. Calculations for two optically pumped GaInNAs laser structures show how this approach can be used to analyze nonequilibrium and dynamical laser properties over a wide range of system parameters.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

This paper investigates nonlinear behavior of coupled lasers. Composite-cavity-mode approach and a class-B description of the active medium are used to describe nonlinearities associated with population dynamics and optical coupling. The multimode equations are studied using bifurcation analysis to identify regions of stable locking, periodic oscillations, and complicated dynamics in the parameter space of coupling-mirror transmission T and normalized cavity-length mismatch dL/{lambda}. We further investigate the evolution of the key bifurcations with the linewidth enhancement factor {alpha}. In particular, our analysis reveals the formation of a gap in the lockband that is gradually occupied by instabilities. We also investigate effects of the cavity-length on chaotic dynamics.

This SAND report is the final report on Sandia's Grand Challenge LDRD Project 27328, 'A Revolution in Lighting -- Building the Science and Technology Base for Ultra-Efficient Solid-state Lighting.' This project, which for brevity we refer to as the SSL GCLDRD, is considered one of Sandia's most successful GCLDRDs. As a result, this report reviews not only technical highlights, but also the genesis of the idea for Solid-state Lighting (SSL), the initiation of the SSL GCLDRD, and the goals, scope, success metrics, and evolution of the SSL GCLDRD over the course of its life. One way in which the SSL GCLDRD was different from other GCLDRDs was that it coincided with a larger effort by the SSL community - primarily industrial companies investing in SSL, but also universities, trade organizations, and other Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories - to support a national initiative in SSL R&D. Sandia was a major player in publicizing the tremendous energy savings potential of SSL, and in helping to develop, unify and support community consensus for such an initiative. Hence, our activities in this area, discussed in Chapter 6, were substantial: white papers; SSL technology workshops and roadmaps; support for the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA), DOE and Senator Bingaman's office; extensive public relations and media activities; and a worldwide SSL community website. Many science and technology advances and breakthroughs were also enabled under this GCLDRD, resulting in: 55 publications; 124 presentations; 10 book chapters and reports; 5 U.S. patent applications including 1 already issued; and 14 patent disclosures not yet applied for. Twenty-six invited talks were given, at prestigious venues such as the American Physical Society Meeting, the Materials Research Society Meeting, the AVS International Symposium, and the Electrochemical Society Meeting. This report contains a summary of these science and technology advances and breakthroughs, with Chapters 1-5 devoted to the five technical task areas: 1 Fundamental Materials Physics; 2 111-Nitride Growth Chemistry and Substrate Physics; 3 111-Nitride MOCVD Reactor Design and In-Situ Monitoring; 4 Advanced Light-Emitting Devices; and 5 Phosphors and Encapsulants. Chapter 7 (Appendix A) contains a listing of publications, presentations, and patents. Finally, the SSL GCLDRD resulted in numerous actual and pending follow-on programs for Sandia, including multiple grants from DOE and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with SSL companies. Many of these follow-on programs arose out of contacts developed through our External Advisory Committee (EAC). In h s and other ways, the EAC played a very important role. Chapter 8 (Appendix B) contains the full (unedited) text of the EAC reviews that were held periodically during the course of the project.

The synchronization between two coupled lasers was analyzed using a strong-coupling theory. The influences of pump, carrier decay rate, polarization decay rate and coupling mirror losses on synchronization between lasers were investigated using bifurcation analysis, supported by insight provided by analytical solutions. It was found that population pulsation is an essential mode competition mechanism responsible for bistability in the synchronized solutions. The mechanism leading to laser synchronization changes from strong composite-cavity mode competition in class-A regime to frequency locking of composite-cavity modes in class-B regime was discovered.

We investigate the influence of the coupling between localized and continuum states on the optical gain and refractive index in self-organized quantum-dot structures under high-excitation conditions. For wide-bandgap nitride-based quantum-dot structures we show that the presence of strong many-body Coulomb interactions and the quantum-confined Stark effect result in absorption/gain features that depend on the quantum-dot dimensions in a nontrivial way. For InAs/GaAs based quantum dots, we investigate the refractive index properties and show that negative α. or linewidth enhancement factors may occur in these systems, which makes the beam quality (filamentation) properties of quantum-dot lasers very different from quantum-well lasers. This is consistent with measurements which show a reduction in quantum-dot laser filamentation as the injection level is increased.

The authors measure the combined affect of strain and well width on the gain and recombination mechanisms in 635-nm laser structures containing three combinations of tensile strain and well width of 0.5%/10 nm, 0.6%/12.5 nm, and 0.7%/15 nm using the segmented contact method. They find an improvement in the intrinsic properties with increasing strain but the dominant effect in device performance is an extrinsic effect - the overall radiative efficiency, which is found to be less than 30% for all three samples even at 200 K. The authors attribute this to nonradiative recombination within the quantum well. The intrinsic gain-spontaneous current density characteristics of all three samples exhibit similar tangential gain parameters and a decreasing transparency current density from 116 to 87 to 83 Acm-2 with increasing strain and well width. They show that the reduction occurs because of a reduction in the TE polarized spontaneous recombination due to the increased splitting of light and heavy hole subbands. The quasi-Fermi level separation required to achieve a fixed value of gain is insensitive to the particular strain/well width combination. The authors use a microscopic laser theory to model the behavior of a larger range of combinations of tensile strain and well width than were examined experimentally, having first demonstrated that the model correctly describes the experimental gain spectra of the only sample exhibiting appreciable gain in both TM and TE polarizations. The calculated data suggest that using still larger values of strain and well width produces no further benefit in performance.

This paper explores quantum-coherence phenomena in a semiconductor quantum-dot structure. The calculations predict the occurrence of inversionless gain, electromagnetically induced transparency, and refractive-index enhancement in the transient regime for dephasing rates typical under room temperature and high excitation conditions. They also indicate deviations from atomic systems because of strong many-body effects. Specifically, Coulomb interaction involving states of the quantum dots and the continuum belonging to the surrounding quantum well leads to collision-induced population redistribution and many-body energy and field renormalizations that modify the magnitude, spectral shape, and time dependence of quantum-coherence effects.

Abstract not provided.

Quantum dot nanostructures were investigated experimentally and theoretically for potential applications for optoelectronic devices. We have developed the foundation to produce state-of-the-art compound semiconductor nanostructures in a variety of materials: In(AsSb) on GaAs, GaSb on GaAs, and In(AsSb) on GaSb. These materials cover a range of energies from 1.2 to 0.7 eV. We have observed a surfactant effect in InAsSb nanostructure growth. Our theoretical efforts have developed techniques to look at the optical effects induced by many-body Coulombic interactions of carriers in active regions composed of quantum dot nanostructures. Significant deviations of the optical properties from those predicted by the ''atom-like'' quantum dot picture were discovered. Some of these deviations, in particular, those relating to the real part of the optical susceptibility, have since been observed in experiments.

Effect of tensile strain/well-width combination on the measured gain-radiative current characteristics of 635 nm laser diodes was studied. Polarization sensitive measurements in real units of gain and spontaneous emission of GaInP lasers allowed the isolate the effects. It was found that varying tensile strain and well width for 635 nm operation had no effect on transverse magnetic polarized recombination at fixed gain. It was also found that the total transparency current decreased from 116 to 83 A cm-2 due to increased separation of light and heavy hole bands.

The capabilities of a fully microscopic approach for the calculation of optical material properties of semiconductor lasers are reviewed. Several comparisons between the results of these calculations and measured data are used to demonstrate that the approach yields excellent quantitative agreement with the experiment. It is outlined how this approach allows one to predict the optical properties of devices under high-power operating conditions based only on low-intensity photo luminescence (PL) spectra. Examples for the gain-, absorption-, PL- and linewidth enhancement factor-spectra in single and multiple quantum-well structures, superlattices, Type II quantum wells and quantum dots, and for various material systems are discussed.

Abstract not provided.

The anomalous carrier-induced dispersion in semiconductor quantum dots was studied. The experiment was performed using quantum-dot lasers consisting of InGaAs quantum dots embedded in GaAs quantum well layers. The experimental result was found to be consistent with a negative linewidth enhancement factor and showed that the anomaly in the dispersive behavior of a quantum dot structure eliminated the longstanding beam-filamentation problem.

A microscopic laser theory is used to investigate gain and threshold properties in a GaAsSb quantum-well laser. Depending on the geometry of the type-II quantum-well gain region, there may be appreciable band distortions due to electron-hole charge separation. The charge separation and accompanying band distortions lead to interesting optical behaviors, such as excitation-dependent oscillator strength and band edge energies. Implications to laser operation include significant blueshift of the gain peak with increasing injection current, and inhibition of spontaneous emission, which may result in threshold current reduction. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

We have used selective AlGaAs oxidation, dry-etching, and high-gain semiconductor laser simulation to create new in-plane lasers with interconnecting passive waveguides for use in high-density photonic circuits and future integration of photonics with electronics. Selective oxidation and doping of semiconductor heterostructures have made vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) into the world's most efficient low-power lasers. We apply oxidation technology to improve edge-emitting lasers and photonic-crystal waveguides, making them suitable for monolithic integrated microsystems. Two types of lasers are investigated: (1) a ridge laser with resonant coupling to an output waveguide; (2) a selectively-oxidized laser with a low active volume and potentially sub-milliAmp threshold current. Emphasis is on development of high-performance lasers suited for monolithic integration with photonic circuit elements.

Abstract not provided.

A wave-optical model that is coupled to a microscopic gain theory is used to investigate lateral mode behavior in group-III nitride quantum-well lasers. Beam filamentation due to self-focusing in the gain medium is found to limit fundamental-mode output to narrow stripe lasers or to operation close to lasing threshold. Differences between nitride and conventional near-infrared semiconductor lasers arise because of band structure differences, in particular, the presence of a strong quantum-confined Stark effect in the former. Increasing mirror reflectivities in plane-plane resonators to reduce lasing threshold current tends to exacerbate the filamentation problem. On the other hand, a negative-branch unstable resonator is found to mitigate filament effects, enabling fundamental-mode operation far above threshold in broad-area lasers.

A record high fundamental-mode power of 5.1 mW was achieved from coupled-resonator vertical-cavity lasers (CRVCLs). In conventional VCSELs, the extent to which the gain volume may be increased is limited by the onset of multi-mode operation. Results indicate that this limitation is circumvented in a coupled-resonator device allowing high power fundamental-mode operation.

Abstract not provided.

The authors report a monolithic coupled-resonator vertical-cavity laser with an ion-implanted top cavity and a selectively oxidized bottom cavity which exhibits bistable behavior in the light output versus injection current. Large bistability regions over current ranges as wide as 18 mA have been observed with on/off contrast ratios of greater than 20 dB. The position and width of the bistability region can be varied by changing the bias to the top cavity. Switching between on and off states can be accomplished with changes as small as 250 {micro}W to the electrical power applied to the top cavity. Theoretical analysis suggests that the bistable behavior is the response of the nonlinear susceptibility in the top cavity to the changes in the bottom intracavity laser intensity as the bottom cavity reaches the thermal rollover point.

A new type of GaAs laser is based on the electron-hole plasma in a current filament and is not limited in size by p-n junctions. High energy, electrically controlled, compact, short-pulse lasers are useful for: active optical sensors (LADAR, range imaging, imaging through clouds, dust, smoke, or turbid water), direct optical ignition of fuels and explosives, optical recording, and micro-machining. The authors present a new class of semiconductor laser that can potentially produce much more short pulse energy than conventional (injection-pumped) semiconductor lasers (CSL) because this new laser is not limited in volume or aspect ratio by the depth of a p-n junction. They have tested current filament semiconductor lasers (CFSL) that have produced 75nJ of 890nm radiation in 1.5ns (50W peak), approximately ten times more energy than ISL. These lasers are created from current filaments in semi-insulating GaAs and, in contrast to CSL, are not based on current injection. Instead, low-field avalanche carrier generation produces a high-density, charge-neutral plasma channel with the required carrier density distribution for lasing. They have observed filaments as long as 3.4cm and several hundred microns in diameter in the high gain GaAs photoconductive switches. Their smallest dimension can be more than 100 times the carrier diffusion length in GaAs. This paper will report spectral narrowing, lasing thresholds, beam divergence, temporal narrowing, and energies which imply lasing for several configurations of CFSL. It will also discuss active volume scaling based on recent high current tests.

The optical gain spectra for GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells are computed using a microscopic laser theory. From these spectra, the peak gain and carrier radiative decay rate as functions of carrier density are determined. These dependences allow the study of the lasing threshold current density of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well structures.

The authors have developed electrically-injected coupled-resonator vertical-cavity lasers and have studied their novel properties. These monolithically grown coupled-cavity structures have been fabricated with either one active and one passive cavity or with two active cavities. All devices use a selectively oxidized current aperture in the lower cavity, while a proton implant was used in the active-active structures to confine current in the top active cavity. They have demonstrated optical modulation from active-passive devices where the modulation arises from dynamic changes in the coupling between the active and passive cavities. The laser intensity can be modulated by either forward or reverse biasing the passive cavity. They have also observed Q-switched pulses from active-passive devices with pulses as short as 150 ps. A rate equation approach is used to model the Q-switched operation yielding good agreement between the experimental and theoretical pulseshape. They have designed and demonstrated the operation of active-active devices which la.se simultaneously at both longitudinal cavity resonances. Extremely large bistable regions have also been observed in the light-current curves for active-active coupled resonator devices. This bistability can be used for high contrast switching with contrast ratios as high as 100:1. Coupled-resonator vertical-cavity lasers have shown enhanced mode selectivity which has allowed devices to lase with fundamental-mode output powers as high as 5.2 mW.

We compare the results of a microscopic laser theory with gain and recombination currents obtained from experimental spontaneous emission spectra. The calculated absorption spectrum is first matched to that measured on a laser, ensuring that the quasi-Fermi levels for the calculation and the experiment (spontaneous emission and gain) are directly related. This allows us to determine the inhomogeneous broadening in our experimental samples. The only other inputs to the theory are literature values of the bulk material parameters. We then estimate the nonradiative recombination current associated with the well and waveguide core from a comparison of measured and calculated recombination currents. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.

The authors report Q-switched operation from an electrically-injected monolithic coupled-resonator structure which consists of an active cavity with InGaAs quantum wells optically coupled to a passive cavity. The passive cavity contains a bulk GaAs region which is reverse-biased to provide variable absorption at the lasing wavelength of 990 nm. Cavity coupling is utilized to effect large changes in output intensity with only very small changes in passive cavity absorption. The device is shown to produce pulses as short as 150 ps at repetition rates as high 4 GHz. A rate equation approach is used to model the Q-switched operation yielding good agreement between the experimental and theoretical pulse shape. Small-signal frequency response measurements also show a transition from a slower ({approximately} 300 MHZ) forward-biased modulation regime to a faster ({approximately} 2 GHz) modulation regime under reverse-bias operation.

In this paper, we overview several of the critical materials growth, design and performance issues for nitride-based UV (<400 nm) LEDs. The critical issue of optical efficiency is presented through temperature-dependent photoluminescence studies of various UV active regions. These studies demonstrate enhanced optical efficiencies for active regions with In-containing alloys (InGaN, AlInGaN). We discuss the trade-off between the challenging growth of high Al containing alloys (AlGaN, AlGaInN), and the need for sufficient carrier confinement in UV heterostructures. Carrier leakage for various composition AlGaN barriers is examined through a calculation of the total unconfined carrier density in the quantum well system. We compare the performance of two distinct UV LED structures: GaN/AlGaN quantum well LEDs for λ<360 nm emission, and InGaN/AlGaInN quantum well LEDs for 370 nm<λ<390 nm emission.

The authors have developed diode lasers for short pulse duration and high peak pulse power in the 0.01--100.0 m pulsewidth regime. A primary goal of the program was producing up to 10 W while maintaining good far-field beam quality and ease of manufacturability for low cost. High peak power, 17 W, picosecond pulses have been achieved by gain switching of flared geometry waveguide lasers and amplifiers. Such high powers area world record for this type of diode laser. The light emission pattern from diode lasers is of critical importance for sensing systems such as range finding and chemical detection. They have developed a new integrated optical beam transformer producing rib-waveguide diode lasers with a symmetric, low divergence, output beam and increased upper power limits for irreversible facet damage.