Optical characterization of a GaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting quantum well laser structure grown by MOCVD

In this work we report on the characterization and modelling of the reflectivity of a vertical cavity surface emitting quantum well laser (VCSEQWL) grown by MOCVD. The theoretical simulation of the reflectivity was developed for the purpose of designing VCSEQWL cavity multilayer reflectors. Included in the model are the effects of the n = 1 electron/heavy hole (e-hh) and electron/light hole (e-lh) exciton absorptions and the dispersion of the multilayer materials on the cavity mirror reflectivity, Using this model we analysed the influence of systematic deviations of the multilayer thicknesses on the VCSEQWL cavity reflectivity, Good agreement was achieved between the measured and simulated reflectivity if we allowed for systematic deviations in the thicknesses of the epilayers of +/- 2.5%. Electroluminescence measurements from the VCSEQWL showed the n = 1 (e-hh) quantum well transition to be matched to the laser cavity resonance, Both calculated and measured results showed that when the n = 1 (e-hh) exciton transition matched the microcavity resonance the exciton absorption was strongly enhanced due to the multiple reflections of the incident light beam in the cavity. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.