| III-V semiconductor self-assembled quantum dot research has been actively performed to fully “exploit quantum effects in heterostructure semiconductor lasers to produce wavelength tunability and achieve lower lasing threshold via the change in the density of states which results from reducing the number of translational degree of freedom of the carriers” [Dingle, R. and Henry C. H., U.S. Patent 3,982,207 (1976)]. Especially, III-Phosphide semiconductor self-assembled quantum dot heterostructures have the potential to realize lasers operating in visible light spectral regions with improved performance characteristics. This dissertation describes and discusses the growth, characterization, and laser devices of III-Phosphide self-assembled quantum-dot heterostructures. The semiconductor heterostructures including self-assembled quantum dots in this work are epitaxially grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and their structural, electrical, and optical properties are characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy techniques, and ballistic electron emission microscopy to optimize the growth conditions of the layers and the structures used for laser devices. Laser operation at 300 K and 77 K from III-Phosphide quantum-dot heterostructures are demonstrated. |
