Optical power of semiconductor lasers with a low-dimensional active region

A comprehensive analytical model for the operating characteristics of semiconductor lasers with a low-dimensional active region is developed. Particular emphasis is given to the effect of capture delay of both electrons and holes from a bulk optical confinement region into a quantum-confined active region and an extended set of rate equations is used. We derive a closed-form expression for the internal quantum efficiency as an explicit function of the injection current and parameters of a laser structure. Due to either electron or hole capture delay, the internal efficiency decreases with increasing injection current above the lasing threshold thus causing sublinearity of the light-current characteristic of a laser. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.