Novel Hexagonal-Facet GaAs/AlGaAs Laser Grown by Selective Area Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

A GaAs hexagonal prism structure with (110) sidewall facets perpendicular to the (111)B substrate surface is obtained by selective area metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using a SiO 2 mask. These (110) sidewall facets are extremely smooth like a cleaved surface, so they can be used as the cavities of a semiconductor laser. A novel hexagonal-facet (HF) GaAs/AlGaAs double heterojunction laser structure is proposed and preliminary lasing characteristics are presented. The average threshold of the optical pumping energy for the HF-laser array is approximately 18 pJ for 416 nm excitation. Single-mode (inscribed hexagonal mode) lasing at 875 nm is obtained at room temperature.