Effect of thermal neutrons on emission characteristics of InGaAs/AlGaAs heterolasers

It is studied how the threshold current of InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum-well injection heterolasers emitting near the wavelength λ = 0.7 μm changes under irradiation by thermal neutrons. It is found that the threshold pump current decreases at small doses (10^-2 neutron cm^-2), while doses exceeding 6×10⁷ neutron cm^-2 cause an increase in this current and degradation of the structure. It is found that the main reasons for an increase in the threshold current at high irradiation doses are the nuclear reactions of the ₄₉In¹¹⁵ (n,γ) → ₄₉In¹¹⁶ type and the β-decay of the ₄₉In¹¹⁶ isotope, which results in the appearance of ₅₀Sn¹¹⁶ atoms.