The radiative recombination coefficient of GaAs from laser delay measurements and effective nonradiative carrier lifetimes

The various interpretations of turn-on delay in semiconductor laser diodes are critically reviewed. It is concluded that values for the total carrier lifetime, or radiative coefficient, cannot be deduced unambiguously from laser turn-on delay measurements alone. However, using additional luminescence efficiency measurements in the spontaneous regime, both the radiative coefficient as well as the nonradiative lifetime can be calculated. The average value for the radiative coefficient in GaAs obtained in this way is 1.3×10−10 cm3/s.