Investigation of the temperature dependence of the threshold current density of GaInP/AlGaInP double-heterostructure lasers

The temperature dependence of the threshold current density of GaInP/AlGaInP double-heterostructure lasers is investigated over a wide temperature range. Using a theoretical calculation of the temperature dependence of the recombination rate in the active layer, the experimentally obtained threshold current density is separated into a component due to recombination in the active layer and an additional component responsible for an increased temperature dependence at higher temperature. For the additional component, a thermal activation energy of 0.27 eV is found. It is argued that this value is too low for a simple explanation based on carrier leakage.