Auger suppression in type-II mid-IR laser diodes

Auger recombination is the limiting process for carrier lifetimes at 300 K lasing densities in interband mid-infrared (mid-IR) active regions. The dominant Auger process is intrinsic, and thus is present even in the cleanest materials. It is possible, however, to reduce the Auger recombination rate of artificial mid-IR semiconductors through a careful design of the electronic structure of the material. We present here a design for a 3.4 μm emitting active region, in which the calculated Auger recombination rate is smaller than the typical Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) rate at room temperature. The structure is based on the InAs/GaInSb type-II material system, which has been explored for the past few years as an active region in the mid-IR