Digital InGaAs/InAlAs short-period superlattices intended for 1.3-μm InP-lasers

Journal of Luminescence. 2026. Vol. 295. Article 121936.

V.I. Voitovich, I.S. Makhov, Andryushkin V. V., Kopytov P. E., Novikov I. I., Papylev D. S., Sobolev M. S., Pirogov E. V., A.M. Nadtochiy, N.V. Kryzhanovskaya, A.E. Zhukov

We report on a comparative study of the optical and structural properties of short-period superlattices (SPSLs) based on digital ternary InGaAs/InAlAs alloys and their counterparts with quaternary InGaAlAs barriers, both grown on InP substrates and emitting in the 1.3 μm wavelength range. The heterostructures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy and analyzed using photoluminescence spectroscopy in a wide temperature range (5–300 K), time-resolved  hotoluminescence spectroscopy, and high-resolution X-ray diffraction. Both ternary- and quaternary-based SPSLs exhibit intense emission at room temperature with comparable peak wavelengths, integrated photoluminescence intensity, radiative recombination efficiency, and charge carrier dynamics. Structural perfection was found to be comparable in all cases as well. Meanwhile, the ternary alloys based digital SPSLs allow avoiding compositional complexity inherent to quaternary alloys. These findings confirm the potential of ternary-SPSL active regions as an easy-to-fabricate and robust alternative for 1.3 μm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

Keywords: сверхрешетки, photoluminescence, фотолюминесценция, time-resolved photoluminescence, время-разрешенная фотолюминесценция, Superlattices

Publication based on the results of: Study of disk microlasers and photonic integrated circuits for optical switching and sensing elements (2025)