Buried waveguide double-heterostructure PbEuSe-lasers grown by MBE

Buried heterostructure (BH) lasers with a PbSe active layer and PbEuSe confinement layers were fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The waveguide was defined by photolithography and an ion milling process. By MBE overgrowth of the etched structure with a PbEuSe layer the BH-laser was formed. The lasers operated cw with low threshold currents (8 mA at 80 K) in the spectral range from 1280 cm-1 (30 K) to 1800 cm-1 (160 K). The spectral characteristics of these lasers were superior to comparable DH stripe lasers. These lasers were the first with IV/VI-MBE overgrowth process of etched lateral structures.