Corrugated laser structures

TL;DR: In this article, a GaAs-GaAlAs double-heterostructure injection laser with internal periodic corrugation has been proposed, which is compatible with the fabrication of monolithic optical circuits and seems to be most suitable as light sources for integrated optics.

Abstract: GaAs–GaAlAs double-heterostructure injection lasers consist of several epilayers of GaAs and GaAlAs grown on a GaAs substrate. The need for cleaved end mirrors may be eliminated in these lasers by incorporating internal periodic corrugation which provide feedback. This distributed feedback relies on Bragg reflection from the periodic perturbation, and thus the lasing wavelength is directly proportional to the corrugation period. Such corrugated laser structures are compatible with the fabrication of monolithic optical circuits and seem to be most suitable as light sources for integrated optics. Our group prepared corrugated structures by ion milling or chemical etching through a photoresist mask which was generated by the interference of two laser beams. We observed laser emission from GaAs–GaAlAs double heterostructures with internal corrugation when pumped electrically at 77 °K. Theoretical considerations indicate that such lasers should have a very low threshold current and a good wavelength selectivity. Further experimental work on these devices is now in progress.