Very low current threshold GaAs/Al0.5Ga0.5As double-heterostructure lasers grown by chemical beam epitaxy

The first device performance of GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs double-heterostructure lasers grown by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) is reported. Very low averaged current threshold densities of ∼500 A/cm2 were obtained for wafers with active layer thicknesses of ∼500–1000 Å and confinement layers of Al0.5Ga0.5As. Such current threshold densities were similar to those obtained from the best wafers grown by other techniques. This unequivocally established that CBE is capable of producing high optical quality multilayer heterostructures. Further, extreme device uniformity was also obtained.