Unipolar semiconductor lasers on asymmetric quantum wells

We propose the original design of an active element of quantum unipolar semiconductor laser both for the optical pumping and current injection modes of operation. The peculiarities of the proposed design are strongly asymmetric barriers surrounding a double-well active element. The suppression of intersubband transitions to the lower working subband can be readily achieved if the transformation point of electronic state dimensionality for the lower subband occurs at small momentum. By this means the population inversion conditions in this system can be easily realized. The results of photoluminescence studies of the individual elements of the proposed structure are presented.