Interband type-II miniband-to-bound state diode lasers for the midinfrared

A design for midinfrared diode lasers based on interband type-II miniband-to-bound state transitions is proposed and has been demonstrated experimentally. Type-II miniband-to-bound state laser structures emitting at 3.25 mu with active regions consisting of 5 and 10 W periods were grown by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy and processed into ridge waveguide lasers. Substrate-side down mounted devices with a 10 period active region and uncoated facets could be operated in continuous-wave (cw) mode up to 185 K and as high as 260 K in pulsed mode. A high characteristic temperature of 100 K has been achieved for heat-sink temperatures below 140 K, decreasing to 33 K for the 140 to 185 K interval. At 110 K, a 5 period laser structure exhibited a threshold current density of 177 A/cm2and a slope efficiency of 61 mW/A. Single-ended output powers of 144 mW in cw mode and exceeding 330 mW in pulsed operation were obtained for a substrate-side down mounted 5 period diode laser with high-reflection/antireflection coated mirror facets, operated at 110 K.