Narrow stripe AIGaAs lasers using double current confinement

Gain guided AlGaAs lasers in which the current is restricted to flow between two narrow stripes have been fabricated. The double current confinement configuration, which is fabricated by a selective meltback-growth technique, enables the current injection to be restricted to a very narrow section of the active layer. These lasers exhibit very strong antiguiding and operate in many longitudinal modes, which are characteristics of narrow stripe lasers. Potential applications of the twin vertical stripe configuration include arrays of optically coupled lasers and, if a real index waveguiding mechanism can be combined with double current confinement, low threshold lasers.