Extraction of non-radiative and carrier leakage losses in GaInP lasers through comparison of experimental and theoretical optical properties

The performance of GaInP quantum well lasers remains limited by non-radiative and carrier leakage losses. These non-radiative losses was quantitatively analyzed through detailed comparison of experimental gain and spontaneous emission spectra with a verified theoretical model. Even in the absence of carrier leakage, there is a substantial contribution to the room temperature threshold current from non-radiative recombination within the wells themselves. The laser consists of a 6.8 nm wide, 0.8% compressively strained quantum well set in an (Al0.5Ga0.5)InP waveguide core region and clad with (Al0.7Ga0.3)InP. The threshold current varies linearly with temperature so the thermally-activated leakage current at this temperature is small.