BERYLLIUM DIFFUSION IN GAAS/ALGAAS SINGLE-QUANTUM-WELL SEPARATE-CONFINEMENT HETEROSTRUCTURE LASER ACTIVE REGIONS

Beryllium (Be) diffusion into the active layers of single quantum well separate confinement heterostructure lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated using photoluminescence absorption spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, capacitance-voltage profiling, and laser threshold current measurements. A significant amount of Be diffusion occurs under normal growth conditions. Large concentrations of Be in the quantum well are correlated to the lack of an exciton feature in the absorption spectrum. The amount of Be in the active region is reduced through a combination of lower Be concentration and lower growth temperature in the upper cladding region of the laser.© 1995 American Institute of Physics.