Low-temperature continuous-wave operation of AlGaAs-GaAs vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers on Si substrates

An AlGaAs-GaAs multiquantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diode has been grown on a Si substrate using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The VCSEL structure grown on a Si substrate consists of ten quantum well active layers and a 23-pair of AlAs-Al/sub 0.1/Ga/sub 0.9/As distributed Bragg reflectors. The VCSEL on a Si substrate exhibited a threshold current of 82 mA and a threshold current density of 4.2 kA/cm/sup 2/ under continuous-wave (CW) conditions at 150 K. Electroluminescence observation showed that optical degradation is caused by the generation and growth of dark-line defects.