High-power and high-temperature operation of Mg-doped AlGaInP-based red laser diodes

This paper reports on high-power and high-temperature operation of an AlGaInP-based high-power red laser diode with magnesium (Mg)-doped quaternary-alloy cladding layer. The use of Mg dopant with small diffusion coefficient enables abrupt doping profiles as well as high carrier concentrations when compared to conventional zinc (Zn) dopant. It was also found that the metal-organic vapor phase epitaxial (MOVPE) growth of Mg-doped quaternary AlGaInP alloy is not affected by so-called reactor memory effects, while unintentional incorporation of Mg is observed in GaAs after the growth of Mg-doped GaAs layers. The higher carrier concentration in the p-type cladding layer enhanced carrier confinement in the active layer so that device performance at high temperature is improved. The abrupt doping profile suppressing dopant diffusion into the active layer eliminates the nonradiative recombination in the active layer resulting in higher external quantum efficiency. The characteristic temperature of the Mg-doped red laser with a lasing wavelength of 659 nm is as high as 167 K while the Zn-doped laser exhibits a temperature of 127 K. High kink-free output power of 150 mW is achieved at 75°C.