Abstract
Polarization-resolved electroluminescence1 and photoluminescence have been demonstrated to be sensitive techniques for measurement of strain in semiconducting luminescent material.2,3 In this paper, strain in the active region of InGaAsP diode lasers has been imaged using spatially resolved and polarization-resolved electroluminescence. Lasers of three different structures were studied: gain guided, ridge waveguide (RWG) and planar buried heterostructure. Experimental results show that the distributions of strain in the plane of the active region are structure dependent. The source of the strain is discussed. A modified theoretical model4 of the strain of RWG laser is examined and compared with experimental results. Finally, the photoelastic effect based on the measured strain distribution is studied. The refractive index distribution owing to the measured strain distribution is calculated. Results show that strain-induced refractive index change for a TE polarized mode is smaller than that for a TM polarized mode. For a TM mode, a strain-induced refractive index change that is antiwaveguiding of up to -3x10-3 is predicted. It is also predicted that the gain for the TM mode is enhanced by the strain. The combination of these effects may explain the polarization state of RWG lasers.
© 1993 Optical Society of America
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