Enhanced spectral power density and reduced linewidth at 1.3 μm in an InGaAsP quantum well resonant-cavity light-emitting diode

Abstract

The active region of an InGaAsP single-quantum well light-emitting diode (LED) emitting at 1.3 μm has been placed in the antinode of a resonant cavity consisting of a 32-period distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and a top silver mirror, with reflectivities of 92% and 95%, respectively. The dominant feature of the 300 K electroluminescence emission at all current levels is a 3 nm (2.8 meV) wide spontaneous emission peak centered on the cavity resonance wavelength. The spectral power density of the structure is more than one order of magnitude higher as compared to a structure without cavity. The resonant-cavity LED operates without gain yet the extremely narrow spectrum indicates that the structure is suitable for wavelength division multiplexing applications.