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GaSb-based semiconductor diode lasers are promising candidates for light sources working in the mid-infrared wavelength region of 2-5 μm. Using edge emitting lasers with ridge-waveguide structure, light emission with good beam quality can be achieved. Fabrication of the ridge waveguide requires precise etch stop control for optimal laser performance. Simulation results are presented that show the effect of increased confinement in the waveguide when the etch depth is well-defined. In situ reflectance monitoring with a 675 nm-wavelength laser was used to determine the etch stop with high accuracy. Based on the simulations of laser reflectance from a proposed sample, the etching process can be controlled to provide an endpoint depth precision within ± 10 nm.

This paper examines and models the effect of temperature on the mode-locking stability of monolithic two-section InAs/GaAs quantum dot passively mode-locked lasers. A set of equations based on an analytic net-gain modulation phasor approach is used to model the observed mode-locking stability of these devices over temperature. The equations used rely solely on static device parameters, measured on the actual device itself, namely, the modal gain and loss characteristics and describe the hard limit where mode-locking exists. Employment of the measured gain and loss characteristics of the gain material over temperature, wavelength and current injection in the model provides a physical insight as to why the mode-locking shuts at elevated temperatures. Moreover, the model enables a temperature-dependent prediction of the range of cavity geometries (absorber to gain length ratios) where mode-locking exists. Excellent agreement between the measured and the modeled mode-locking stability over a wide temperature range is achieved for an 8-stack InAs/GaAs mode-locked laser. This is an extremely attractive tool to guide the design of monolithic passively mode-locked lasers for applications requiring broad temperature operation.

We report the results on the growth, structural and optical characterization of single wurtzite (WZ) GaAs nanowires as well as WZ GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires with ZB GaAsSb inserts. For the GaAs/GaAsSb heterojunction both the crystal material and crystal phase change plays a critical role in the exact band alignment. We show that ZB GaAsSb inserts with both WZ and ZB GaAs barriers can be grown and hence both type I and type II band alignment can be achieved which has large effects on the optical properties of the nanowires. We thus demonstrate that it is possible to engineer the band-structure at a semiconductor heterojunction by modulating the crystal material as well as the crystal phase.