Abstract

An ideal laser with near-zero threshold can in principle be realized with microcavity resonators and quantum-well active layers.¹ Recently, Yamamoto et al. proposed such a laser with two multilayer mirrors, each comprising 10 pairs of high-optical-index contrast (n₁/n₂ = 3.6/1.5) materials, forming a microcavity around a 70 Å quantum well between two half-wavelength thick (n ≈ 3.5) Al_0.2Ga_0.8As barriers. This high-index layer forms a slab waveguide with a thickness of one wavelength.

© 1990 Optical Society of America