DC, modulation, and gain-switched characteristics of self-organized In/sub 0.4/Ga/sub 0.6/As/GaAs quantum dot room temperature lasers

Quantum dot lasers are predicted to have the highest gain and differential gain of all the quantum confined laser structures. These properties can be exploited in pulsed communication schemes, where the width of gain-switched pulses will determine the throughput, and in analog communications schemes, through the expected high small-signal modulation bandwidth. In this study, the DC and small-signal optical modulation characteristics of single and multiple layer quantum dot lasers realized by self-organized strained layer epitaxy are reported and analyzed. Results of gain-switched measurements on quantum dot lasers are reported and compared to numerical simulations, and the suitability of quantum dot lasers for gain switching is discussed.