Lasing wavelength of GaAs single quantum well diodes with thin AlAs carrier blocking layers

Lasing wavelength (λ_L) has been investigated of a set of high-quality GaAs graded-index separate-confinement-heterostructure single-quantum-well (L_z = 15 nm) laser diodes with and without 1 nm thick AlAs carrier blocking layers beside the well for temperatures between 20 and 300 K. Gain-guided 10 μm oxide stripe lasers with the AlAs layers show anomalous λ_L red-shifts with decreasing temperature, which do not follow the temperature dependence of the GaAs band-gap energy. We attribute these unusual λ_L red-shifts due to the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) induced by accumulated charges because of the presence of the AlAs blocking layers for carrier tunneling injection. Absence of such λ_L red-shifts in the case of similar diodes without the AlAs layers indicate that the λ_L can be significantly influenced by Stark effect due to accumulated charges, confirming the importance of the QCSE for determination of the lasing wavelength.