Electrical and optical properties of deep-red top-surface-emitting lasers

By studying thermal behavior of all-MBE surface-emitting lasers, barrier heights and optimum cavity design parameters are obtained. The barrier heights for holes between hetero-interfaces of Al/sub 0.3/Ga/sub 0.7/As-Al/sub 0.65/Ga/sub 0.35/As and AlAs-Al/sub 0.65/Ga/sub 0.35/As ( Delta x=-0.35) are measured to be 77 meV at zero bias for the deep-red top-surface-emitting laser. The barrier height decreases linearly with forward bias voltage, explaining the nonlinearity in current-voltage characteristics of the top-surface-emitting laser. The contribution of electrons to electrical resistance is estimated to be negligibly small compared to that of holes for the structure consisting of Delta /sub x/=0.35. Minimum threshold current and maximum differential quantum efficiency observed around 200 K indicate slight mismatch between gain maximum and Fabry-Perot resonance for the deep-red top-surface-emitting laser.<>