TWO APPROACHES TOWARDS A LOW POWER SOLID STATE LASER

A low power solid state laser is desirable in the context of an optical communications system because of its expected long life and efficiency. Integrated circuit technology has shown that a solid state system is cheaper and more reliable than an equivalent system constructed of separate parts.;The first approach involved modifying a chemical vapor depositon (CVD) reactor designed to grow III-V compound semiconductor materials. While neodymium was successfully transported to the crystalline substrate, the desired Nd doped III-V semiconductor material could not be prepared.;The second approach, developing a buried heterostructure laser fabrication technology, required an investigation into state of the art etching technology and selective epitaxial deposition of III-V semiconductors. The results of these studies are presented as well as the fabrication technology of the buried heterostructure. The working devices were characterized and electrical and optical models are proposed to explain their behavior.;This work describes two projects. Each is an approach towards the goal of preparing a low power solid state laser. The first approach was an attempt to synthesize a material with the desirable properties of rare earth optical emission and the convenience of electrical pumping available to the semiconductor laser. The second approach involved developing, fabricating, and characterizing a semiconductor laser with a very small gain region, the buried heterostructure laser.