................................................................................................................................. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................................... VI TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................ VIII LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. XI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS....................................................................................................................XII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1 1.1 GOAL................................................................................................................................1 1.2 TECHNOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORK ................................................................4 1.2.1 Characteristics of a hetero-structure pin laser diode and Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) ..................................................................................................4 1.2.2 Application of 1.3 μm VCSELs in fiber communication ..................................................6 1.2.3 Application of 1.3 μm lasers to improve eye safety .........................................................9 1.2.4 Other DBR devices operating at 1.3 μm........................................................................10 1.3 ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL SYSTEMS FOR 1.3 μM EMISSION..............................................10 1.4 PROPERTIES OF NITRIDES AND ARSENIDES ......................................................................13 1.5 OUTLINE OF THE DISSERTATION .....................................................................................14 1.6 SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2: MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY GROWTH OF NITRIDE-ARSENIDES.....16 2.1 GROWTH OF III-V MATERIALS FOR HETERO-JUNCTION DEVICES ....................................16 2.1.1 Molecular Beam Epitaxy ...............................................................................................16 2.1.2 Lattice Mismatch............................................................................................................22 2.2 OPTIMIZATION OF THE RADIO FREQUENCY PLASMA........................................................25 2.3 CONTROL OF NITROGEN CONCENTRATION ......................................................................29