Room-temperature transverse-electric polarized intersubband electroluminescence from InAs/AlInAs quantum dashes

We report the observation of transverse electric polarized electroluminescence from InAs/AlInAs quantum dash quantum cascade structures up to room temperature. The emission is attributed to the electric field confined along the shortest lateral dimension of the dashes, as confirmed by its dependence on crystallographic orientation both in absorption measurements on a dedicated sample and from electroluminescence itself. From the absorption, we estimate a dipole moment for the observed transition of < x > = 1.7 nm. The electroluminescence is peaked at around 110 meV and increases with applied bias. Its temperature dependence shows a decrease at higher temperatures limited by optical phonon emission. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4773360]