Theory and design of In${}_x$Ga${}_{1-x}$As${}_{1-y}$Bi${}_y$ mid-infrared semiconductor lasers: type-I quantum wells for emission beyond 3 $\mu$m on InP substrates

Abstract

We present a theoretical analysis and optimisation of the properties and performance of mid-infrared semiconductor lasers based on the dilute bismide alloy In${}_x$Ga${}_{1-x}$As${}_{1-y}$Bi${}_y$, grown on conventional (001) InP substrates. The ability to independently vary the epitaxial strain and emission wavelength in this quaternary alloy provides significant scope for band structure engineering. Our calculations demonstrate that structures based on compressively strained In${}_x$Ga${}_{1-x}$As${}_{1-y}$Bi${}_y$ quantum wells (QWs) can readily achieve emission wavelengths in the 3 -- 5 $\mu$m range, and that these QWs have large type-I band offsets. As such, these structures have the potential to overcome a number of limitations commonly associated with this application-rich but technologically challenging wavelength range. By considering structures having (i) fixed QW thickness and variable strain, and (ii) fixed strain and variable QW thickness, we quantify key trends in the properties and performance as functions of the alloy composition, structural properties, and emission wavelength, and on this basis identify routes towards the realisation of optimised devices for practical applications. Our analysis suggests that simple laser structures -- incorporating In${}_x$Ga${}_{1-x}$As${}_{1-y}$Bi${}_y$ QWs and unstrained ternary In${}_{0.53}$Ga${}_{0.47}$As barriers -- which are compatible with established epitaxial growth, provide a route to realising InP-based mid-infrared diode lasers.

arXiv commentSubmitted version

References in corpus (4)

• Tight-binding analysis of the electronic structure of dilute bismide alloys of GaP and GaAs
• Band engineering in dilute nitride and bismide semiconductor lasers
• Derivation of 12- and 14-band $\text{k}\cdot \text{p}$ Hamiltonians for dilute bismide and bismide-nitride semiconductors
• 12-band $\text{k}\cdot \text{p}$ model for dilute bismide alloys of (In)GaAs derived from supercell calculations

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Optical properties of metamorphic type-I InAs${}_{1-x}$Sb${}_x$/Al${}_y$In${}_{1-y}$As quantum wells grown on GaAs for the mid-infrared spectral range
• Deep levels analysis in wavelength extended InGaAsBi photodetector
• Theory and optimisation of radiative recombination in broken-gap InAs/GaSb superlattices