REDUCING AUGER RECOMBINATION IN SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL DEVICES

摘要

A semiconductor optical device (40, 50, 60) comprises a first region 42 comprising an active region configured such that electrons and holes recombine in the active region to produce photons when a voltage is applied to the device. The device comprises at least one second region (43, 44, 53, 54, 62, 63) comprising a quantum well structure which is configured to trap electrons only, to trap holes only, or to trap different amounts of electrons and holes. The second region is arranged at a distance from the first region which is sufficiently close to the first region such that a charge imbalance develops in the first region when a voltage is applied to the device, thereby to reduce Auger recombination in the first region.