Two-dimensional transverse cross-section quantum-well resolving nanopotentiometry of buried-heterostructure multiple-quantum-well lasers under forward operation

Summary form only given. In nanopotentiometry, a conductive atomic force microscope tip is used as a voltage probe to measure the distribution of the electrical potential on a surface. We report the application of this technique to a buried heterostructure laser under forward operating bias. The results give insight into a key problem in advanced semiconductor laser engineering: revealing the mechanism and influence of current leakage over the current blocking structure and/or over and around the active region. The technique has advantages over other diagnostic methods in that it is nondestructive and, further, does not significantly perturb the device under test; enables characterization of operating, even lasing, devices; and resolves the two-dimensional transverse cross-section of devices, which is particularly important in buried heterostructure devices intended for directly-modulated deployment.