9.4 μm emitting quantum cascade lasers grown by MOCVD: Performance improvement obtained through AlInAs composition adjustment

Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is a prevalent technique for the epitaxial growth of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs), with the material quality being paramount to the overall device performance. Previous studies have indicated that the actual aluminum (Al) content in InAlAs barrier layers grown via MOCVD often diverges from the specified design values, particularly for layers with a thickness below 1 nm. To address this discrepancy, the Al content within the InAlAs layers can be fine-tuned by modifying the MOCVD growth parameters. This study undertakes an exhaustive analysis of QCL devices, comparing those with and without aluminum content compensation, through a combination of simulation and experimental approaches. The results demonstrate that the implementation of the Al compensation methodology facilitates the alignment of the QCL device wavelength with the intended design value. This approach also enhances the laser transition efficiency and gain coefficient of the QCL device, thereby improving its slope efficiency and threshold current density. The final QCL device exhibits a wavelength of 9.4 μm, with a maximum continuous wave (CW) and pulsed optical power and wall-plug efficiency (WPE) of 1.26 W and 7.4% and 2.08 W and 10.1%.