ABSTRACT
Fiber optic networks, operating at 1.3 µm and 1.5 µm, have relied upon InGaAsP/InP laser diodes for their high-speed optical sources. This material system, however, is not ideal, because electrical and optical confinement problems have limited their ultimate bandwidths as compared with GaAs-based devices which do not suffer from these problems. We propose a novel active region design that employs an ordered (InAs)1(GaAs)1 quantum well with GaAs barriers on GaAs(lll)B substrates. We find that (i) 1.3 µm wavelengths are achievable at moderate degrees of ordering which have already been achieved in other material systems and (ii) much longer wavelengths are possible at higher degrees of ordering. Free of the problems feoed by laser diodes on InP substrates, these monolayer superlattice devices have the potential to provide higher modulation bandwidths and greater temperature stability at 1.3 µm than the InGaAsP/InP lasers currently employed.
