Low threshold buried-heterostructure quantum well lasers by excimer laser assisted disordering

Laser assisted disordering based upon a direct-write Ar+ laser beam has been established as a fabrication technique for high quality optoelectronic devices. In this letter, we report a new form of laser assisted disordering in which an excimer laser beam, photolithographically patterned, is used to define the incorporation of Si impurity into GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructure crystals. During a subsequent thermal anneal the diffusing Si induces layer disordering to a depth of ∼1 μm. The excimer laser assisted disordering process is characterized as a function of the energy density of the laser beam. Also, this technique is used to fabricate high quality buried-heterostructure lasers. With a reflective rear facet, the typical cw threshold current is 4 mA and the maximum power output is 27 mW. The devices exhibit single fundamental mode operation with subsidiary longitudinal side modes suppressed by 34 dB.