1.5 ¿m room-temperature pulsed operation of GaInAsP/InP double heterostructure grown by LP MOCVD

The letter reports the first successful room-temperature pulsed operation of a broad-area contact laser of GaInAsP/InP double heterostructure, grown by LP MOCVD, emitting at 1.5 ¿m. Pulsed thresholds as low as 2.5 kA/cm2 have been obtained for 1.5 ¿m, for an active layer thickness of 0.48 ¿m. This is equal to a current density per micrometre of 5.2 kA cm¿2 ¿m¿1. InxGa1¿xAsyP1¿y, III, III, V, V alloys are of great interest for use in infra-red devices. They can be grown lattice matched on InP over a wide range of compositions. The resulting bandgap (1.35¿0.75 eV) covers a spectral range which contains the region of lowest losses and lowest dispersion in modern optical fibres. This property makes In1¿xGaxASyP1¿y, very attractive as a semiconductor laser and detector material for future fibre communication systems.