Very-low-threshold, strained In/sub y/Ga/sub 1-y/As-GaAs quantum-well lasers defined by impurity-induced disordering

Strained In/sub y/Ga/sub 1-y/As-GaAs quantum-well (InGaAs-QW) stripe geometry lasers ( lambda approximately 9050 AA) were fabricated by impurity-induced disordering (IID) through self-aligned Si-Zn diffusion. Lasers exhibit very low threshold (I/sub th/=3.0 mA at room-temperature continuous operation) and good uniformity (>90% with I/sub th/ 70% with I/sub th/=4+or-1 mA). The moderate blue shift of the lasing wavelength (250 A or 40 meV) suggests that the strained InGaAs-QW active layer can survive long-time high-temperature thermal annealing (850 degrees C, 8 h) required for Si diffusion. >