Summary

A new laser structure has been introduced in the form of a thyristor operating in the on state. The thyristor is comprised of two interconnected BicFETs, each one using modulation doping to create a quantum well region that is pumped electrically to produce stimulated emission. The two quantum well regions are interactive both electrically and optically. The thyristor laser is an attractive transmitter for data communications since it is naturally a digital device and enables a laser with a high extinction ratio when the off condition is used for the zero state. Since the laser is formed by the interconnection of two transistors then the two transistors are also available from the fabrication. Realizing a VCSEL is straightforward since a grown mirror may underlie all devices and the top mirror may be deposited selectively. In this paper the basic operation of the laser was described using no-k selection rules and the frequency dependent gain, threshold current, threshold voltage, electrical efficiency and slope efficiency were derived in terms of the thyristor structural parameters. In a following paper the first demonstration of the laser is reported.

Trini