CONTINUOUS WAVE TOP SURFACE EMITTING QUANTUM-WELL LASERS USING HYBRID METAL-SEMICONDUCTOR REFLECTORS

Continuous wave lasing at room temperature of vertical cavity top surface emitting quantum well lasers using hybrid metal/semiconductor reflectors is demonstrated. Semitransparent metal films, about 350 Å thick, are used with a reduced number of periods of distributed Bragg reflectors to form a hybrid top mirror with greatly reduced electrical resistance. Voltage at a threshold current of 11 mA is as low as 3.2 V and 100Ω differential series resistance is obtained with 10 μm diameter devices. Improved uniformity and yield were obtained using silver/gold thin films deposited in-situ under ultra-high vacuum after molecular beam epitaxial growth of the semiconductor layers. © 1990, The Institution of Electrical Engineers. All rights reserved.