Abstract

Recent progress of direct write lithography technology combined with epitaxial growth technology for quantum well materials leads to possibility of realizing quantum well wire (QWW) and quantum well box (QWB) structures. It has been proposed that arrays of QWW and QWB might be used as the active layer of a semiconductor lasers[1]. In these devices, QWW arid QWB composed of a low bandgap material like GaAs, would be imbedded in a higher bandgap material like AlGaAs. Theoretical studies indicate the potential advantage of these structures are reduced threshold current [2], enhanced modulation bandwidth[3], and narrow spectral properties[4]. These improvements are experimentally demonstrated by placing a quantum-well (QW) laser in a high magnetic field[4]. These micro structures might be also useful for nonlinear optical devices.

© 1988 Optical Society of America