Electron beam pumped lasing in ZnSe grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

We report the first observations of lasing action in electron beam pumped ZnSe grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (100) GaAs substrates. In spite of the small thicknesses (approximately 2 μm) of the films used, lasing thresholds as low as 3.9 A/cm2 have been measured at an accelerating voltage of 20 kV when the (nominal) sample temperature was 15 K. Threshold currents increased for sample temperatures greater than 100 K, and for accelerating voltages both less than and greater than 20 kV.