Stimulated emission in AlGaN/AlGaN quantum wells with different Al content

Stimulated emission (SE) is studied in AlGaN/AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with different Al content grown on sapphire substrate. The spectra of spontaneous and stimulated emission and their transformations with increasing temperature as well as stimulated emission thresholds were measured in the temperature range from 8 to 300 K. Phonon-assisted band broadening in low-Al-content MQWs and double-scaled potential profile in high-Al-content MQWs were observed in the samples and linked with carrier localization conditions. The temperature dependence of the stimulated emission threshold was similar in the samples where the stimulated transitions occur between extended states and in the samples where the transitions occur in localized states. The stimulated emission threshold depends predominantly on the density of nonradiative recombination centers.