Orientation dependence of optical properties in long wavelength strained quantum-well lasers

The dependence of optical properties on crystal orientation is analyzed for long wavelength strained quantum-well (QW) GaAsP-InGaAsP lasers. The calculation is based on the multiband effective mass theory which enables us to consider the anisotropy and the nonparabolicity of the valence-band dispersions. It is found that the optical gain increases as the crystal orientation is inclined from [001] toward [110]. This is due to the reduced valence-band density of states. The differential gain is about 1.6 times larger for the [110]-oriented 1.55-/spl mu/m strained QW's than for equivalent [001]-oriented QW's. It is also shown that the threshold current density in 1.3-/spl mu/m strained QW lasers decreases to two-thirds of that in the [001]-oriented laser as the orientation is inclined away from [001] by 40/spl deg/-90.< >