Gain and threshold current in type II In(As)Sb mid-infrared quantum dot lasers

Abstract

In this work, we improved the performance of mid-infrared type II InSb/InAs quantum dot (QD) laser diodes by incorporating a lattice-matched p-InAsSbP cladding layer. The resulting devices exhibited emission around 3.1 μm and operated up to 120 K in pulsed mode, which is the highest working temperature for this type of QD laser. The modal gain was estimated to be 2.9 cm-1 per QD layer. A large blue shift (~150 nm) was observed in the spontaneous emission spectrum below threshold due to charging effects. Because of the QD size distribution, only a small fraction of QDs achieve threshold at the same injection level at 4 K. Carrier leakage from the waveguide into the cladding layers was found to be the main reason for the high threshold current at higher temperatures.