Microspectroscopic studies of CdSe single quantum well lasers

A series of single quantum well CdSe/ZnSe lasers have been grown by MOVPE. Whereas standard spectral integration shows no pronounced mode structure, video spectroscopy allows the capture of laser emission from a single exciting pulse. This 'single shot lasing' is found to reveal mode structure. Furthermore, a typical laser bar is found to comprise of a series of independent 'microlasers' interspersed with inactive regions. Using a microscope in the excitation path of our apparatus allows us to selectively excite individual 'microlasers'. With these advances we hope to improve the accuracy with which fundamental parameters can be determined.