Current spreading suppression by O- and Si-implantation in high power broad area diode lasers

Over the last decades considerable efforts have been undertaken to increase output power, conversion efficiency and beam quality of GaAs based broad-area diode lasers by optimizing the epitaxial layer design as well as the lateral device structure. In this respect the reduction of current spreading is essential to meet future requirements for high power diode lasers. Lateral current spreading enhances the accumulation of carriers at the edges of the active region defined by the contact stripes which results in additional leakage current and lasing of higher-order lateral modes, reducing efficiency and beam quality. We address this issue by implementing a tailored deep implantation scheme as a current block, implanting O and Si, using two-step epitaxy. This work elucidates the effects of buried current apertures, fabricated by Si and O doping at different doses on the optoelectronic properties of broad area lasers. It will be shown how deep O- and Si-implantation significantly suppresses current spreading, leading to lower threshold currents and higher efficiency.