OEIC-enabling LCI lasers with current guides: combined theoretical-experimental investigation of internal operating mechanisms

Lateral current injection (LCI) lasers are promising candidates for optoelectronic integration and novel functional devices. We investigate experimentally the performance of a new class of LCI lasers with improved operating characteristics, focusing in particular on regions of agreement and disagreement with our physical model. We then employ fully self-consistent two-dimensional modeling in order to study the impact on performance of current guides-vertical structures intended to lower the series resistance of the active region-and find that these structures were central to achieving improved performance. We find that with additional refinements in the design of LCI lasers with current guides, further improvements in CW room-temperature performance may be achieved.