Optimization of Laser Gain Material

Current electronic technologies face a problem: the ubiquitous copper components are reaching their bandwidth limits, and the need for faster information processing and transmission is growing. Light can be used as a more rapid means of carrying information and is a suitable replacement for copper due to its capability for higher bandwidth and speed. Current optical transmission systems for short to midrange communications use Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs). The ultimate goal of the research is to develop a faster and more efficient VCSEL, improving its speed and efficiency. For this project a setup was built to test simple ridge lasers and utilized to obtain information that would help determine optimal material compositions that could lead to better VCSELs. The material growth was performed using Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and the processing was done via photolithography. A baseline characterization of the material was obtained and will be used to contrast future materials.