The Importance of Recombination via Excited States in InAs/GaAs $\hbox{1.3}\;\mu$m Quantum-Dot Lasers

The temperature dependence of the radiative and nonradiative components of the threshold current density of 1.3 mum InAs/GaAs quantum-dot lasers have been analyzed both experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that the weak temperature variation measured for the radiative current density arises because the optical matrix element for excited state transitions is significantly smaller than for the ground state transition. In contrast, nonradiative Auger recombination can have a similar probability for transitions involving excited states as for those involving ground state carriers. The sharp increase in the threshold current density at high temperatures follows the temperature variation of the cubed threshold carrier density confirming that Auger recombination is the dominant recombination mechanism in these devices at room temperature.