Low regrowth–interface recombination rates in InGaAs–GaAs buried ridge lasers fabricated by in situ processing

We report the use of low damage dry etching and in situ molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) regrowth in creating high-quality regrown interfaces. By fabricating buried, etched ridge InGaAs/GaAs lasers, we are able to measure the interface recombination portion of the threshold current and extract the interface recombination velocity. We find that a two-part etching process composed of ion beam assisted etching and chlorine gas etching, followed by in situ MBE regrowth, results in a very low interface recombination velocity of 3×103 cm/s.