Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

The measured dependence of the lateral ambipolar diffusion length on carrier injection-level in Stranski-Krastanov quantum dot devices

Naidu, Deepal, Smowton, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9105-4842 and Summers, Huw David 2010. The measured dependence of the lateral ambipolar diffusion length on carrier injection-level in Stranski-Krastanov quantum dot devices. Journal of Applied Physics 108 (4) , 043108. 10.1063/1.3471812

[thumbnail of measured_dependence_of_the_lateral_ambipolar_diffusion_length.pdf]
Preview
PDF
Download (593kB) | Preview

Abstract

Using the segmented contact method we separate and numerically evaluate the components making up the threshold current density dependence of quantum dot ridge waveguide lasers. An increasing internal optical mode loss and an increasing lateral out-diffusion current are the significant processes in ridges of widths between 4 and 10 μm, with no significant contribution from a deteriorating gain-mode overlap. By fitting a diffusion length model to the lateral out-diffusion process, we extract the ambipolar diffusion length, Ld, as a function of intrinsic carrier injection-level which covers carrier densities appropriate for functioning light-emitting diode and laser devices. The measured dependence fits a diffusion mechanism involving the thermal redistribution of carriers via the wetting-layer and most significantly leads to two regimes where Ld can be reduced in self-assembled quantum-dot systems. Only one of these is shown to be beneficial to the overall efficiency of the device, while the other is at the expense of undesired high-order nonradiative recombination processes at high injection-levels. Covering a peak modal gain range of approximately 5 to 11 cm−1 over injection-levels of 65 to 122 meV at 350 K, this dependence caused Ld to change from 0.75 to 1.50 μm, with the maximum occurring at 84 meV where the peak modal gain is 6 cm−1. Decreasing the temperature to 300 K reduced Ld to <0.75 μm over approximately the same injection-level range.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Physics and Astronomy
Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
Uncontrolled Keywords: carrier lifetime, current density, optical losses, quantum dot lasers, ridge waveguides, self-assembly, waveguide lasers, wetting
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
ISSN: 0021-8979
Last Modified: 05 May 2023 05:23
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/7353

Citation Data

Cited 7 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics