Low-threshold distributed reflector laser consisting of wide and narrow wirelike active regions

We demonstrate a low-threshold distributed reflector laser, consisting of a distributed feedback section with wirelike active regions and a passive distributed Bragg reflector section with narrower ones, by utilizing the lateral quantum confinement effect. A threshold current under the room-temperature continuous-wave condition as low as 3.2 mA, which corresponds to a threshold current density of 290 A/cm², was obtained with the stripe width of 4.3 μm and the active region length of 260 μm. The differential quantum efficiency of 19% from the front facet, a high output ratio of 11 from the front facet to the rear facet, and a submode suppression ratio of 47 dB at a bias current 3.75 times the threshold were also achieved.