Ion beam induced intermixing of quantum well heterostructures for optoelectronic applications

Ion beam intermixing is proving to be an attractive route to engineering the bandgap energies of quantum wells constructed from heterostructures in optoelectronic materials. Tests of the concept have been carried through to the device performance stage and full wafer processing. Two rather different examples of its capabilities: (a) differential wavelength adjustment on an array of GRINSCH-type laser diodes; and (b) cooling of laser facets through the use of bandgap adjusted cavity extensions, are presented. The need to better understand the physics underlying the technique is illustrated by results showing a pronounced dependence of bandgap shift upon implantation temperature