Abstract:

We present the pulsed operation at room temperature of different strained InGaAs/AlInAs quantum-cascade lasers grown by low-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. Devices based on a bound-to-continuum transition design have threshold current densities in pulsed mode as low as 1.84 kA/cm(2) at 300 K. Identical lasers grown at higher rate (0.5 nm/s) also have threshold current densities lower than 2 kA/cm(2) at 300 K. Buried heterostructure lasers based on a double phonon resonance design were operated in continuous mode up to 280 K. Overall, the performance obtained from strained quantum cascade lasers deposited by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy are comparable with that of similar structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.