Suppression of Auger recombination in long-wavelength quantum well W-structure lasers

Using picosecond pulses from a free-electron laser, we have carried out a pump-probe determination of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) and Auger free-carrier recombination lifetimes in two long-wave (6-7 mum) W-structure laser with InAs/Ga1-xInxSb/InAs/AlSb active regions. The SRH coefficient is nearly constant (A approximate to4.0X10(8) s(-1)), while the Auger coefficient has an upper limit of C=4.0x10(-27) to 2.2X10(-27) cm(6)/s in the temperature range 40-230 K. This represents an order of magnitude Auger suppression compared to type-I III-V semiconductors with the same energy gap.