Parameter-dependent photon echo induced in CdSe/ZnS quantum dot quantum well

The two pulse photon echo (2PPE) phenomena induced by the 1s-1s electronic transition in CdSe/ZnS quantum dot quantum well (QDQW) has been studied by employing semiconductor Bloch equations. The energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of electrons and holes have been obtained by solving the stationary Schrödinger equation under effective-mass approximation. The Coulomb interaction, which changes with the size variation of QDQW, has been calculated and analyzed as a perturbation. The variations of the electric transition dipole moment and the energy interval with the changing of the size and structure of the QDQW have also been obtained. It has been shown from the numerical calculation results that the efficiency of 2PPE can be controlled by the variation of the size and structure of the QDQW and the mechanism has been explained in terms of the quantum size confined effect (QSCE) theory.     

Characteristics of degenerated four wave mixing in ZnS/CdSe/ZnS quantum dot quantum well with multi-shell structure

The wave functions and eigenenergies of electrons in ZnS/CdSe/ZnS cylindrical quantum dot quantum well (QDQW) have been calculated by solving a three-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation, in the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function theory. The third-order susceptibilities of the degenerated four waves mixing (DFWM) have been calculated theoretically by means of compact density matrix. The third-order susceptibilities as the function of the shell radius R₂, R₃ have been analyzed. The results show that the magnitude of nonlinear susceptibility is increased with the increasing of well radius. The resonance frequency of the photon have a shift when R₂ or R₃ is increasing and the relation between nonlinear susceptibility and relaxation time has also been studied.     

Double heterojunction lasers and quantum well lasers

The improved technology of compound semiconductor heterojunction preparation has resulted in very reliable CW, room temperature diode lasers for optical information read-out grown on p-type substrates on the one hand and very abrupt double heterojunction diode lasers based on quantum effects on the other hand. The influence of quantization effects on the emission wavelength, the threshold current and its temperature dependence are discussed. A distinction has been made between quantization due to strong magnetic fields giving rise to a one-dimensional electron gas (quantum wire) and quantization resulting from electrostatic and/or compositional changes (quantum well). The double heterojunction as a test structure to study carrier scattering into quantum wells, the phonon participation in the hot carrier relaxation process and optical flux guiding in graded heterojunctions have been emphasized.     

Inhomogenous broadening in quantum well lasers

The effect of structural inhomogeneities in multi-quantum-well lasers caused by composition and well width fluctuations on the line-shape and gain of the lasers is discussed based on gaussian and uniform distribution models. Quantitative results of wide applicability are deduced. The results show that the structural inhomogeneities will reduce the gain and broaden the lineshape.     

Carrier transport effects in quantum well lasers

EditorialSpecial Issue

Carrier transport effects in quantum well lasers     

Lead salt quantum well diode lasers

Lead-salt diode lasers are useful for spectroscopic applications in the 2.5–30 μm wavelength range. These devices have previously required cryogenic cooling <100 K) for CW operation. The use of quantum well, large optical cavity structures has improved the operating temperatures to 174 K CW (at 4.39 μm) and to 270 K pulsed (at 3.88 μm). These diodes have a single PbTe quantum well with lattice-matched Pb_1?xEu_xSeyTe_1?y confinement layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The emission energy shifts have been calculated using a finite square well with nonparabolicity effects included. Initial work has also been done on multiple quantum well lasers. The maximum operating temperatures were comparable to those of single quantum well lasers, with leakage current and possibly Auger recombination limiting device performance.     

Luminescence and Raman studies of ZnSe/ZnS multiple quantum well structures

We present luminescence and Raman spectra of ZnSe/ZnS quantum wells fabricated by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. Our experiments provide information on the structure of the sample interfaces between adjacent layers. Especially LO phonon Raman scattering is found to be sensitive to strain and to the undesired formation of a solid solution between the two compounds. A calculation using a one-dimensional particle-in-box model with finite barriers gives good agreement with the measured exciton energies assuming as fitting parameter a valence band discontinuity of 91%.     

Resonant injection quantum well diodes and lasers

Simple modifications of the standard GaAsGaAlAs double barrier tunneling diode and quantum well laser structures are considered. Calculations show that by replacing the outer GaAs layers of the diode by small aluminum concentration GaAlAs, the peak-to-valley ratio of the negative resistance can be increased. A similar structure is formed if thin high aluminum content barriers are added on one or both sides of the quantum well in a quantum well laser. The barriers then create a resonance in the well region. The alloy concentration outside of the barriers can be chosen to line up the incoming electron energy with the resonance, creating a greatly enhanced charge density in the well. Electrons are thereby captured by the well more efficiently and threshold currents may be lowered.     

The beam properties of high-power InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum well lasers

The vertical beam quality factor of the fundamental TE propagating mode for InGaAs/AlGaAs SCH DQW lasers emitting at 940 nm is investigated by using the transfer matrix method and the non-paraxial vectorial moment theory for non-paraxial beams. An experimental approach is given for the measurement of the equivalent vertical beam quality factor of an InGaAs/AlGaAs SCH DQW laser. It has been shown that the vertical beam quality factor M_x² is always larger than unity, whether the thickness of the active region of LDs is much smaller than the emission wavelength or not.     

Well width‐dependent electron Raman scattering in ZnS/CdSe cylindrical quantum dot quantum well

Electron Raman scattering (ERS) is investigated in ZnS/CdSe cylindrical quantum dot quantum well (QDQW). The differential cross section (DCS) is calculated as a function of the scattering frequency and the sizes of QDQW. Single parabolic conduction and valence bands are assumed. Different scattering configurations are discussed and the selection rules for the processes are also studied. Singularities in the spectrum are found and interpreted. The ERS studied here can be used to provide direct information about the electron band structure of these systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple quantum well mixing and index-guided quantum well heterostructure lasers by MeV ion implantation

In recent years considerable interest has been shown in impurity-induced compositional disordering of III–V compound semiconductor devices, especially in efforts directed towards fabricating index-guided buried heterostructure lasers and other unique photonic and electronic devices. In this work we describe the study of compositional disordering induced by MeV implantation of oxygen and krypton into AlAs-GaAs superlattices and the fabrication of index-guided quantum well heterostructure lasers by MeV oxygen ion implantation.     

High performance 1689-nm quantum well diode lasers

1689-nm diode lasers used in medical apparatus have been fabricated and characterized. The lasers had pnpn InP current confinement structure, and the active region consisted of 5 pairs of InGaAs quantum wells and InGaAsP barriers.     

AlGaInP visible quantum well lasers for information technology

650 nm-range AlGaInP multi-quantum well (MQW) laser diodes grown by low pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) have been studied and the results are presented in this paper. Threshold current density of broad area contact laser diodes can be as low as 350 A/cm². Laser diodes with buried-ridge strip waveguide structures were made, threshold currents and differential efficiencies are (22–40) mA and (0.2–0.7) mW/mA, respectively. Typical output power for the laser diodes is 5 mW, maximum output power of 15 mW has been obtained. Their operation temperature can be up to 90°C under power of 5 mW. After operating under 90°C and 5 mW for 72 hrs, the average increments for the threshold currents of the lasers at 25°C and the operation currents at 5 mW (at 25°C) are (2–3) mA and (3–5) mA, respectively. Reliability tests showed that no obvious degradation was observed after 1400 hours of CW operation under 50°C and 2.5 mW. Presented at the 1st Czech-Chinese Workshop “Advanced Materials for Optoelectronics”, Prague, Czech Republic, June 13–17, 1998.     

Enhancement of optical gain in Li:CdZnO/ZnMgO quantum well lasers

The CdZnO/ZnMgO QW structure with high Cd composition is found to have smaller optical gain because the strain-induced piezoelectric polarization and the spontaneous polarization in the well increase with the inclusion of Cd. The internal field is reduced due to the additional polarization of opposite direction by Li in the CdZnO/ZnMgO QW structure. These results show that Li:CdZnO-based QW lasers are promising candidates for optoelectric applications in visible and UV regions.     

Photogalvanic current in a double quantum well

A double quantum well affected by external alternating electric field with in- and out-of-plane components is studied. This field causes transitions between near-degenerate states located in different wells. The phototransitions are accompanied by the in-plane momentum nonconservation caused by the impurity scattering. We study the in-plane stationary current due to the lack of the in-plane symmetry of these indirect phototransitions. It is shown that the value and direction of the current are determined by the polarization of light. The linear and circular photogalvanic coefficients are found. When the photon energy approaches the distance between subbands these coefficients have their symmetric and antisymmetric resonance behaviors, respectively.     

Band structures and characteristics of InGaAs/InGaAsP strain-compensated quantum well lasers

Analysis is performed for valence band structures and some characteristics of InGaAs/InGaAsP strain-compensated quantum well lasers lattice-matched to InP substrate. The computed results show that band offsets are functions of strain compensation instead of constants; strain compensation changes the band structures and the density of states, and hence affects the optical gain and the threshold current density. Under the condition of zero net strain, the values of the well width, cavity length and relative threshold carrier density and threshold current density are determined for realization of 1.55 m wavelength emission.     

Growth and optical characterization of single quantum well structure of submonolayer ZnS/ZnTe

Single quantum wells of submonolayer ZnS/ZnTe were grown between ZnTe layers using hot wall epitaxy method with fast-movable substrate configuration. As ZnS well widths decrease from 1 to 0.15 monolayer, the photoluminescence peaks shift to higher energies from 2.049 to 2.306 eV, and the photoluminescence intensities increase. As ZnS well width decrease, the PL spectra show the lower-energy tails and consequently the increased PL FWHMs. This is a result of a convolution of two PL peaks from two-dimensional and zero-dimensional quantum islands, supported by a still lived lower-energy peaks of zero-dimensional quantum islands above 50 K. The energy shift in the power dependence of photoluminescence spectra is proportional to the third root of the excitation density. These behaviors can be described by the formation of submonolayer type-II ZnS/ZnTe quantum well structure, and the coexistence of two-dimensional and one-dimensional islands in ZnS layers.     

Carrier transport effects in quantum well lasers: an overview

Early theoretical predictions and later experimental work have shown that lasers with quantum well active areas have enhanced differential gain over bulk lasers. The resonance frequency in a semiconductor laser is proportional to the square root of the differential gain. The resonance frequency is directly related to the modulation bandwidth, and the enhancement in the intrinsic differential gain led to theoretical predictions of increased modulation bandwidth in quantum well lasers. This enhancement in the modulation bandwidth proved to be elusive initially, and later it was realized that other factors, namely carrier transport effects, played a more dominant role in the high-speed properties of quantum well lasers. Carrier transport effects, in addition to bandfilling, affect a wide range of static and dynamic properties of the quantum well lasers. This paper will present an overview of our present understanding of the carrier transport processes and their effects in quantum well lasers.     

Parameter-dependent third-order optical nonlinearity in a CdSe/ZnS quantum dot quantum well in the vicinity of a gold nanoparticle

The nonlinear optical properties of the CdSe/ZnS quantum dot quantum well (QDQW) in the vicinity of a spherical metal nano-particle (MNP) have been described. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility induced by the transition between E₁ (inside the well) and E₂ (outside the well) has been calculated for the third-harmonic generation (THG) under the effective mass approximation and modified by the local field theory. The parameters-dependent third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility for the THG has been specifically explored and the influence of the distance between the QDQW and the MNP on the third-order susceptibility for the THG in the system has been shown and analyzed.