GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well lasers with active regions grown by atomic layer epitaxy

Atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) is a relatively new crystal growth technique which allows control of the growth process at the monolayer level through a self-limiting, surface-controlled growth mechanism. We report here the use of ALE to grow high-quality GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells and the first successful demonstration of an injection laser with a quantum well active region grown by ALE. Room-temperature threshold current densities as low as 640 A/cm2 have been achieved in nonoptimized separate confinement structures.