Assessment of GaInNAs as a potential laser material

Recently GaInNAs has attracted the attention of the research community by virtue of its unusual physical properties, which make it a promising material for optoelectronic applications. The bulk of the work has concentrated on growth issues and limited theoretical work has been presented. The authors use the band structure models developed by other research groups to evaluate the potential of this material. This evaluation considers laser related parameters, namely material gain, differential gain and linewidth enhancement factor. In particular, the effect of nitrogen composition on these parameters is explored and basic design rules are outlined not only on the basis of the emission wavelength but also in terms of optimal device operation. Finally, considerations are extended to the utilisation of GaInNAs in semiconductor optical amplifiers.