Auger effects in acceptor-doped long-wavelength strained quantum well lasers

Auger effects in undoped and p-doped strained quantum wells (QWs) were evaluated taking the subband nonparabolicity of the valence band into account. The Auger lifetime is relatively short mainly due to the subband nonparabolicity. However, the Auger rates in a strained QW are lower, and the threshold current reduced to about 1/4 of that in a lattice-matched QW is expected. It is concluded that a high-speed laser with a relaxation oscillation frequency of near 70 GHz and with a relatively low threshold current 500 A/cm2 will be realized in a p-doped (∼5×1018 cm−3) strained QW structure.