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Quantum dots (QDs) are an emerging class of photoactive materials that exhibit extraordinary optical features. Due to the availability of narrowband emitted light from QDs, they can be used to pave the way for next-generation light-emitting devices, especially in the development of LEDs and lasers. Over recent years solution-processed colloidal QDs have been developed in pre-existing light-emitting devices such as laser scalpels, displays and data communications. QDs became mainstream in 2013, with Sony and Samsung launching QD televisions, in which photo emissive QDs are used in the backlight of LCD TVs to replace red and green phosphors. Currently, photo-emissive QD displays are the only commercially available large area QD display, with electro-emissive displays limited to smaller sizes in some smartphone devices. At the same time, lighting now accounts for 15 to 22% of the electricity used in developed countries. This highlights how fundamental artificial lighting is to humans and why more efficient light sources can significantly impact energy consumption. Throughout history, any progress in artificial lighting (with regards to chemical sources and physical phenomena) has been to increase efficiency, improve light quality and decrease costs. QDs offer this capability to advance current lighting solutions. However, even with the advancements in QD performance, there remain issues with creating heavy metal-free high-performance QD devices. This paper presents a review of colloidal QD synthesis and the reasons behind their use in light emission applications.

InAs/GaAs quantum-dot (QD) lasers offer a promising method to realise Si-based on-chip light sources. However, the monolithic integration of III–V materials on Si introduces a high density of threading dislocations (TDs), which limits the performance of such a laser device in terms of device lifetime. Here, we proposed a kinetic model including a degradation term and a saturation term to simulate the degradation process caused by the TDs in the early stage of laser operation. By using a rate equation model, the current density in the wetting layer, where the TDs concentrate, is calculated. We compared the rate of degradation of QD lasers with different cavity lengths and of quantum-well lasers, where both are directly grown on Si substrates, by varying the fitting parameters in the calculation of current densities in the kinetic model.

Semiconductor mode-locked lasers (MLLs) with extremely high repetition rates are promising optical frequency comb (OFC) sources for their usage as compact, high-efficiency, and low-cost light sources in high-speed dense wavelength-division multiplexing transmissions. The fully exploited conventional C- and L- bands require the research on O-band to fulfil the transmission capacity of the current photonic networks. In this work, we present a passive two-section InAs/InGaAs quantum-dot (QD) MLL-based OFC with a fundamental repetition rate of ∼100 GHz operating at O-band wavelength range. The specially designed device favours the generation of nearly Fourier-transform-limited pulses in the entire test range by only pumping the gain section while with the absorber unbiased. The typical integrated relative intensity noise of the whole spectrum and a single tone are −152 and −137 dB Hz−1 in the range of 100 MHz–10 GHz, respectively. Back-to-back data transmissions for seven selected tones have been realised by employing a 64 Gbaud four-level pulse amplitude modulation format. The demonstrated performance shows the feasibility of the InAs QD MLLs as a simple structure, easy operation, and low power consumption OFC sources for high-speed fibre-optic communications.

We report on InAsP quantum dot lasers grown by MOVPE for 730-780 nm wavelength emission and compare performance with InP dot samples grown under similar conditions and with similar structures. 1-4 mm long, uncoated facet InAsP dot lasers emit between 760 and 775 nm and 2 mm long lasers with uncoated facets have threshold current density of 260 Acm(-2), compared with 150 Acm(-2) for InP quantum dot samples, which emit at shorter wavelengths, 715-725 nm. Pulsed lasing is demonstrated for InAsP dots up to 380 K with up to 200 mW output power. Measured absorption spectra indicate the addition of Arsenic to the dots has shifted the available transitions to longer wavelengths but also results in a much larger degree of spectral broadening. These spectra and transmission electron microscopy images indicate that the InAsP dots have a much larger degree of inhomogeneous broadening due to dot size variation, both from layer to layer and within a layer.

Using the optically pumped variable stripe length technique we demonstrate that, through calibration of measured spontaneous emission spectra, it is possible to determine the total radiative recombination rate for a gain material as a function of the intrinsic quasi-Fermi level separation. Specifically we compare the room temperature optical characteristics of a self-assembled InP/GaInP quantum dot material measured using both optical and electrical pumping. The comparison reveals good agreement between gain and emission spectra measured with the two techniques, for the same inversion, from which we conclude that the carrier distributions in each case are equivalent. The results demonstrate that the optically pumped experiment can provide a good measure of the overall radiative efficiency.

Monolithic InP/GaInP quantum dot passively mode-locked lasers, designed using gain and absorption measurements, are realised for the first time, emitting at 740 nm with 12.5 GHz repetition frequency.