Thermal conductivity of 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs quantum dot laser active material from chirp and 3ω measurements

Abstract

Semiconductor quantum dots have very low thermal conductivities compared with bulk materials or quantum well structures. In this paper, thermal conductivity of InAs quantum dot laser active regions was determined using two different approaches. Measured conductivity is between 0.03 and 0.05 W/(m-K) for both approaches, in reasonable agreement considering the approximations used in the measurement method. This reduced thermal conductivity of the active region in quantum dot lasers has a significant effect on the laser operating characteristics. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.