| This dissertation presents the characterization of an electrically pumped W-well laser. Special emphasis was placed on the cavity length dependence of several lasing performance parameters. Cavity lengths ranging from 700 mum up to 2100 mum were cleaved from the same region of a lapped and polished semiconductor heterostructure. The semiconductor wafer was grown at the Naval Research Laboratory to the design specifications of a W-well laser. All of the fabrication and testing was performed at the University of Kansas.;The samples were processed to include 100 mum wide transmission bars for electrical contacting. They were contacted electrically and pumped for a variety of duty cycles. Characterization was performed at a pulse width of 100 ns at a frequency of 2500 Hz. For each individual cavity length, IV (current-voltage) and L1 (output light vs. injected current) curves were measured.;Threshold currents, internal loss coefficients, and external differential quantum efficiency values were determined for each cavity length. These performance parameters were obtained for temperatures ranging from 77 K up to 180 K. By determining these performance parameters, intrinsic material properties can be obtained and judgments can be made on the performance of semiconductor lasers. From this, future devices can be engineered to minimize internal loss coefficients while simultaneously improving external differential quantum efficiency values resulting in an improved device. |
