Waveguides for nitride based quantum cascade lasers

Journal article, 2011

Waveguide designs for AlGaN-based near-infrared quantum cascade lasers are investigated using a finite-difference method mode solver. Because of the negligibly small refractive index difference between the AlN/GaN/AlGaN gain region and the surrounding AlGaN current injection and extraction layers, a low refractive index substrate (sapphire) and a low refractive index dielectric (SiO2) are used for vertical confinement of the optical field. A ridge waveguide with an off-center contact metallization is used for lateral confinement. The off-center contact allows for the propagation of a TM mode with low metal induced loss and sufficient optical confinement in the gain region. A viable waveguide design with a metal-induced loss of 6.1 cm-1 and a confinement factor of 0.52 is demonstrated.