Microscopic calculation and measurement of the laser gain in a (GaIn)Sb quantum well structure

A detailed microscopic calculation and experimental measurements of the optical gain from a (GaIn)Sb structure are presented. For a given excitation density, the gain in the (GaIn)Sb material system considerably exceeds that of a comparable equivalent (GaIn)As/GaAs structure. The physical reasons for this high gain are analyzed and attributed mostly to band structure effects.