Transverse junction stripe laser with a lateral heterobarrier by diffusion enhanced alloy disordering

We report the first cw, room-temperature multiple quantum well transverse junction stripe laser (MQW TJS) with an alloy disordered heterobarrier. The addition of a lateral heterobarrier by zinc diffusion enhanced alloy disordering reduces the laser threshold by a factor of 3 compared to standard transverse junction stripe lasers processed simultaneously. The reduction in threshold and excellent single mode performance of the MQW TJS are attributed to the superior carrier and optical confinement of a single heterojunction compared to a homojunction. We demonstrate for the first time lateral injection in a multiple quantum well where the diffused junction plays an active (not passive) role in the injection process and that the transition region between complete disorder and no disorder forms the active region of the laser.