Quantum technologies containing key GaN laser components will enable a new generation of precision sensors, optical atomic clocks and secure communication systems for many applications such as next generation navigation, gravity mapping and timing since the AlGaInN material system allows for laser diodes to be fabricated over a wide range of wavelengths from the U.V. to the visible. We report our latest results on a range of AlGaInN diode-lasers targeted to meet the linewidth, wavelength and power requirements suitable for quantum sensors such as optical clocks and cold-atom interferometry systems. This includes the [5s2S1/2-5p2P1/2] cooling transition in strontium+ ion optical clocks at 422 nm, the [5s21S0-5p1P1] cooling transition in neutral strontium clocks at 461 nm and the [5s2 s1/2 – 6p2P3/2] transition in rubidium at 420 nm. Several approaches are taken to achieve the required linewidth, wavelength and power, including an extended cavity laser diode (ECLD) system and an on-chip grating, distributed feedback (DFB) GaN laser diode.
Nitride semiconductor-based light emitters (LEDs and laser diodes) are influenced by magnesium (Mg) acceptors, limiting conductivity and operational temperature due to high ionization energy. Mg also causes strong optical absorption, reducing laser diode efficiency. Dielectric polarization engineering using wurtzite nitride lattice symmetry (polarization doping) has been proposed to manipulate electrical properties. Our study demonstrates low threshold current density (2.5 kA/cm2), low internal losses (around 5 cm-1), and good thermal stability in fabricated laser diodes, enabling operation at cryogenic temperatures. Notably, polarization-doped p-layers yield lower voltage than Mg-doped ones. Understanding hole injection from polarization-doped layers remains a challenge.
The goal of this work lies in expanding the integrated circuit technology to short wavelengths with the use of nitride emitters. We propose an approach that allows monolithic fabrication of lasers and waveguides using the same epitaxial structure. This is achieved by increasing the misorientation of the substrate locally, prior to the epitaxy, which allows local modification of the indium incorporation into the InGaN layers. Such areas are then used for etching down waveguides with low absorption. Within this work, we develop our technology for the fabrication of waveguide combiners, which involves creating waveguides with bends that bring two or more optical modes into close proximity. We compare systems consisting of 1 mm long laser diodes coupled to 1 mm bent waveguides with bend angles from 2.5° to 45° and different bend radiuses. We estimate the losses based on the optoelectrical parameters of the working system, treating it as a laser diode with a passive region introducing optical losses.
The growth of high In content InGaN material is notorious for being challenging because of high mechanical strain and thermodynamic instability of the system. It has been shown that one can improve the growth quality by using variable surface miscut. In this study, we demonstrate the use of micropatterning of bulk GaN substrates in order to improve the quality of high In content layers. During MOVPE growth the quality of the InGaN layers and the In content depends on the local shape of the substrate surface, reaching the highest emission intensity at the top of every pattern. We study patterns with characteristic sizes ranging from 1 to 6 µm created using two methods: binary photolithography combined with a thermal reflow process as well as multilevel photolithography. The latter allows for achieving lower inclination of the sidewall of the pattern which in turn supports a more stable growth process. The properties of the samples are studied using fluorescence microscopy, microphotoluminescence mapping and carrier diffusion measurements.
Quantum technologies containing key GaN laser components will enable a new generation of precision sensors, optical atomic clocks and secure communication systems for many applications such as next generation navigation, gravity mapping and timing since the AlGaInN material system allows for laser diodes to be fabricated over a wide range of wavelengths from the U.V. to the visible. We report our latest results on a range of AlGaInN diode-lasers targeted to meet the linewidth, wavelength and power requirements suitable for quantum sensors such as optical clocks and cold-atom interferometry systems. This includes the [5s2S1/2-5p2P1/2] cooling transition in strontium+ ion optical clocks at 422 nm, the [5s21S0-5p1P1] cooling transition in neutral strontium clocks at 461 nm and the [5s2 s1/2 – 6p2P3/2] transition in rubidium at 420 nm. Several approaches are taken to achieve the required linewidth, wavelength and power, including an extended cavity laser diode (ECLD) system and an on-chip grating, distributed feedback (DFB) GaN laser diode.
We present the realization of low-absorptive GaN waveguide for cost-effective, ultra-compact visible light Photonic Integrated Circuit (PICs) applications. Within this framework, in order to achieve on chip fabrication of both active and passive parts on GaN platform, we realized the well-defined sensitivity of indium incorporation to InGaN layers (Quantum wells) to substrate misorientation during epitaxial growth of device structure with MOCVD. Fabrication of GaN waveguides on locally high misoriented areas (1 degree- 4 degree) coupled with neighboring laser diodes on flat areas (0.2 degree) allowed us to locally shift the absorption edge of InGaN quantum wells enabling efficient light transmission through the fabricated waveguides.
Broad area InGaN laser diodes have gained importance as versatile high-power sources in the blue spectral range. Lateral multi-mode operation naturally occurs in a ridge waveguide that is more than 3-5 µm broad, while also the formation of longitudinal mode bunches is amplified by a large active region. We investigate a series of broad-ridge InGaN laser diodes with different cavity length and ridge width and characterize their spectral-lateral-temporal behavior. Lateral modes of different order show sequential onset dynamics and can be observed at different wavelengths. We characterize their interplay with longitudinal mode dynamics as well as the emerging lateral-longitudinal mode pattern depending on cavity length and ridge width.
The innovative method of μLEDs fabrication is presented. The light emission area was defined by a size of the tunnel junction (TJ) embedded inside diode. The epitaxial structures were grown entirely by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) on (0001) bulk GaN crystals. The PAMBE grown LED structure emitting light at 450 nm was capped with TJ region and 100 nm n-type GaN. The emission size of μLEDs was defined by ion implantation of n-type GaN and TJ region. The entire surface of the wafer is atomically flat, ready for the next epitaxial process, which is important e.g. for TJ µLEDs red-green-blue displays with a stack of 3 µLEDs.
Although the polarization doping is a break-through technology for deep UV emitters, it is also very useful for enhancing p-type conductivity and lower the resistance in the classical InGaN laser diodes operating in the visible part of the spectrum. We were able, additionally, to show that these devices can operate in broader temperature range, especially at low (cryogenic) temperatures. We also show the drastic reduction in hydrogen content in top layers of the laser diodes, which may influence their reliability.
Nowadays, there is a growing need for light-sources meeting seemingly contradictory requirements such as very narrow emission spectrum and high optical power or high quality of the light beam combined with a broad emission spectrum. These specific requirements trigger the development of optoelectrical elements such as superluminescent diodes (SLD) and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA).
In this presentation, we will review the basic work principles of SLDs and SOAs as well as discuss the important challenges such as: suppression of the feedback from the device facets, reduction of gain saturation, broadening of SLD emission spectra. We will also analyze the limits related to self-heating.
In this paper, we try to resolve problems related to decreasing the size of an LED, and find a solution that would let us preserve optoelectronics parameters. The main idea is to use tunnel junctions to define the current path and, therefore, define the size of µLED. This way, during fabrication, there is no need to etch the active region. That way, it does not introduce any degradation nor problems related to surface states or differences in electrical fields inside the device.
We have fabricated such devices with sizes ranging from 100 µm-5 µm. In the characterization of these devices, it became apparent that, both electrical and optical parameters, are fully scalable with size. Most importantly, we do not observe an increase in the non-radiative recombination coefficient even for the smallest device. In addition, we observe excellent thermal stability of their light emission characteristics.
KEYWORDS: Near field, Semiconductor lasers, Streak cameras, Visible radiation, Spectroscopy, Diodes, Spectral resolution, Near field optics, Broad area laser diodes
We investigate the lateral near field of blue laser diodes with 10 μm broad ridges in pulsed conditions. While scanning the near field step by step with the help of a streak camera, we observe complex dynamics due to lateral-longitudinal mode competition, wavelength shifts and lateral mode switching. Additionally, a high-resolution spectrometer enables us to differentiate between the different mode combs which form the longitudinal mode spectrum. We observe filling of the gain volume and a spectral broadening with increasing current, as well as a slight asymmetry and an inhomogeneous lateral mode pattern.
In this work, we study the optoelectrical properties of nitride LED structures employing polarization doping for the p-type layers. We compare standard Mg-doped, partially doped, and undoped AlGaN p-type layers. The electrical properties of these samples are similar, proving the successful use of polarization doping. The optical measurements suggest that doping of the electron blocking layer is required for preserving good light emission efficiency. We also studied our samples at lowered temperatures and observed no freeze-out region down to 77K. For top metal contact, sub contact doping is indispensable because the intrinsic top layer causes the Schottky barrier.
For certain, growing, class of applications it is necessary to have better suiting combination of beam and spectral quality. This specific combination of beam quality and spectrally broad emission can be delivered by superluminescent diodes (SLEDs). Additionally, the expected advent of nitride integrated photonic circuits and visible light communication call for new active optical elements, such as optical semiconductor amplifiers (SOA).
Within this work we will present the progress in the development of broad spectral emission (>15 nm and OSA amplifiers which reach the gain of 10-20 dB at violet-blue wavelength range.
Our goal is to fabricate a laser diode 2D array which combines the properties of both VCSEL and edge emitting laser. Proposed light emitter will have a horizontal cavity with 450 deflectors. The role of these deflectors would be to deflect light perpendicular to the cavity, achieving vertical out-coupling. The most challenging part of this project is the fabrication of the micro-mirrors which act as both as beam deviating mirrors and cavity forming mirrors. Owing to the excellent thermal conductivity of GaN substrates the properties of such a 2D array should be better than of conventional nitride laser diode arrays, not even mentioning nitride-based stacked bars systems. In this paper I will describe our new device design and processing, giving insight to its possible applications and advantages over simple light emitting laser diode.
Nitride based laser diodes utilize as an active medium extremely strained InGaN quantum wells. As the nitride materials are piezoelectric in their nature, this strain is reflected in a strong piezoelectric field. This tilts the energy bands and shifts the emission spectrum position through the Quantum Confined Stark Effect (QCSE). As the laser diode is operated at elevated currents, the built-in electric field is reduced due to the screening by injected carriers. This leads to the increase of emission energy (blue-shift). It has been a subject of many discussions whether the field is preserved at lasing, or is it completely screened.
In this work we compare the emission wavelength shift of nitride laser diodes and superluminescent diodes having different QW compositions. The superluminescent diodes allow us to study the emission spectrum at higher carrier densities than for laser diodes. In laser structures, we clearly see the saturation of the blue-shift at threshold current. While, on the other hand, we see the continuous shift of the emission wavelength in case of superluminescent diodes. This suggests, that the piezoelectric fields are not fully screened at threshold current. We also see that for UV laser diodes the emission line shift is much smaller than for blue wavelength devices. This implies practically complete screening of the electric field for UV laser while the lasing of blue laser diodes occurs at high electric field conditions.
KEYWORDS: Semiconductor lasers, Waveguides, Gallium nitride, Waveguide lasers, Near field optics, High power lasers, Laser applications, Gallium, Diodes, Quantum optics
The AlGaInN material system allows for laser diodes to be fabricated over a very wide range of wavelengths from UV, ~380 nm, to the visible ~530 nm, by tuning the indium content of the laser GaInN quantum well. This makes nitride laser diodes suitable for a vast range of applications, but most of them require not only the proper wavelength emission, but also high optical power and good beam quality. The typical approach - wide ridge waveguide - often suffers from spatial multimode emission (low beam quality). We report our initial results with tapered GaN lasers to increase the maximum optical power of the device with a good beam profile. This combination opens new possibilities for GaN laser diode technology in quantum technologies including optical atomic clocks and quantum gravity sensors.
The gain saturation is a crucial factor limiting achievable output power of superluminescent diodes (SLD), as it exponentially depends on optical gain value. Contrary to laser diodes, in SLDs gain is increasing with the increasing current even much above the transparency conditions. Therefore, SLDs provide us with an unique possibility to examine gain under high current densities (high carrier injection). In our work we examined SLDs fabricated in a “j-shape” ridge-waveguide geometry having chips of the length of 700 μm and 1000 μm, emitting in the blue-violet region. By comparing the amplified spontaneous emission measured along the device waveguide with true spontaneous emission measured in perpendicular direction, we are able to extract optical gain as a function of injected current. We show, that in our devices spontaneous emission exhibits a square-root-like dependence on current which is commonly associated with the presence of “droop” in case of nitride light emitting diodes. However, along the waveguide axis, fast processes of stimulated recombination dominate which eliminates the efficiency reduction. Calculated optical gain shows a substantial saturation for current densities above 8 kA/cm2.
KEYWORDS: Semiconductor lasers, Gallium nitride, Laser applications, Defense and security, Laser development, Quantum wells, High power lasers, Near field optics, Thermal effects, Indium
The latest developments in AlGaInN laser diode technology are reviewed. The AlGaInN material
system allows for laser diodes to be fabricated over a very wide range of wavelengths from u.v. to
the visible, i.e., 380-530nm, by tuning the indium content of the laser GaInN quantum well. Of
specific interest for defence applications is blue-green laser diode technology for underwater
telecommunications and sensing applications.
Ridge waveguide laser diode structures are fabricated to achieve single mode operation with optical
powers of <100mW in the 400-420nm wavelength range with high reliability. Low defectivity and
highly uniform GaN-substrates allow arrays and bars of nitride lasers to be fabricated. In addition,
high power operation of AlGaInN laser diodes is demonstrated with the operation of a single chip,
‘mini-array’ consisting of a 3 stripe common p-contact at powers up to 2.5W cw in the 408-412 nm
wavelength range and a 16 stripe common p-contact laser array at powers over 4W cw.
Junction temperature of a laser diode (LD) determines the value of threshold current, maximum achievable power and device lifetime. In this work we studied this parameter by a method of comparing current-voltage characteristics measured under pulse bias (at various temperatures) with DC characteristic obtained at room temperature. As exemplary devices we chose various laser diode arrays and single emitter laser with different substrate thickness. The results show, that the primary factor determining thermal resistance of the device is the chip’s surface, which means, that a dominating mechanism is related with a heat transfer between the chip and the heat sink.
We demonstrate the possibility of fabrication of InGaN laser diode with an extremely thin lower AlGaN cladding (200 nm) by using high electron concentration, plasmonic GaN substrate. The plasmonic substrates were fabricated by one of high-pressure methods – ammonothermal method or multi-feed-seed growth method and have an electron concentration from 5x1019 cm-3 up to 1x1020 cm-3. New plasmonic substrate devices, in spite of their extremely thin lower AlGaN cladding, showed identical properties to these manufactured with traditional, thick lower cladding design. They were characterized by identical threshold current density, slope efficiency and differential gain. Thin AlGaN devices are additionally characterized by low wafer bow and very low density of dislocations (<104 cm-2).
We present ultraviolet InGaN superluminescent diodes fabricated in a “j-shape” waveguide geometry. Under CW operation at room temperatures, devices emit optical power up to 80 mW at 395 nm with no tendency for lasing. The chip length was 1.5 mm. Emitted optical power was very sensitive to the device temperature. This effect limited the maximum optical power obtained in CW operation. With better packaging scheme better performance in CW regime should be achieved.
Highly n-doped GaN is a material of a reduced refractive index which may substitute AlGaN as a cladding layer in
InGaN laser diodes. In this study we focus on the determination of the optical absorption and the refractive index of
GaN:O having the electron concentration between 1·1018 - 8·1019 cm-3. Though the measured absorption coefficient for
the highest doped GaN are rather high (200 cm-1) we show, using an optical mode simulation, that you can design a
InGaN laser diode operating in blue/green region with decent properties and low optical losses. We propose to use
relatively thin AlGaN interlayer to separate plasmonic GaN from the waveguide and thus to dramatically reduce the
optical losses.
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