CA2005473C - Method of making semiconductor laser device - Google Patents

Method of making semiconductor laser device

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Publication number
CA2005473C
CA2005473C CA 2005473 CA2005473A CA2005473C CA 2005473 C CA2005473 C CA 2005473C CA 2005473 CA2005473 CA 2005473 CA 2005473 A CA2005473 A CA 2005473A CA 2005473 C CA2005473 C CA 2005473C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
film
semiconductor laser
lambda
chip
thickness
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
CA 2005473
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2005473A1 (en
Inventor
Hitoshi Kagawa
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Original Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp filed Critical Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority to CA002103716A priority Critical patent/CA2103716C/en
Publication of CA2005473A1 publication Critical patent/CA2005473A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2005473C publication Critical patent/CA2005473C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

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  • Semiconductor Lasers (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A method of making a semiconductor laser device is provided, in which a reflection control film is disposed on at least one surface of a semiconductor laser chip to control its reflectivity, then the semiconductor laser chip is attached to a mount, and the entire assembly is coated with an insulating film.

Description

METHOD OF UAKING SE~ICONDUC~OR LASER DEVICE
This invention relates to a method of making a semiconductor laser device whlch may be used as a light source for, for example, an optical communications system, a compact disc system, an optical disc system and the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure l is a perspective view of semiconductor bodies in one step of one of conventional methods of fabricating semiconductor laser devices;
Figures 2(a) and 2(b) are perspective views of a semiconductor laser chip assembly in different steps of another one of conventional methods of manufacturing semiconductor laser devices;
Figure 3 shows a sequence of steps for manufacturing a semiconductor laser device according to one embodiment of the present invention; and Figures 4(a) and 4(b) are perspective views of the semiconductor laser chip assembly in two of major manufacturing steps shown in Figure 3.
BACKGROU~D OF THE INVENTION
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a semiconductor laser device in one of steps of a conventional manufacturing method, in which a multi-layered film of dielectrlc material is formed on each of semiconductor laser chip end surfaces that are coincident with cleavage planes of the crystals of the semiconductor laser chips. In Figure 1, a plurality of bar-shaped semiconductor bodies 21 are stacked, with their end surfaces aligned with each ~ "''` . ': :
.

200S~3 other. Each of the bar-shaped semiconductor bodles 21 have a plurality of semiconductor laser chip actlve portions formed and aligned therein. Multi-layered dielectric films 23 are formed over aligned end surfaces of the stacked bar-shaped semiconductor bodies 21. Electrodes 24 are formed on each of the semiconductor hodies 21. Laser light is emltted from points indicated by X in Figure 1.
According to this conventional method, the bar-shaped semiconductor members 21 are stacked with their end surfaces ~resonator-defining end surfaces) aligned with each other, and, then, the multi-layered dielectric films 23 are formed only on the resonator-defining end surfaces in the directions indicated by arrows 25 by means of electron beam vapor deposition. The dlelectric films 23 are for the purposes of protecting the resonator-defining end surfaces of the respective semiconductor bodies 21 and controlling the reflectivities of the resonator end surfaces. After the films 23 are formed, the stack of the semiconductor bodies 21 are diced into individual semiconductor A la .. ' ~ ' ," , ' :
. ~ , ~.

0547:~

laser chips. Each of the separated semiconductor laser chips is bonded to a mount, and the produced assemblies are subjected to a next manufacturing step such as a testing step.
Figure 2(a) is a perspective view of an assembly of a semicon-ductor laser chip made by another conventional method. A semi-conductor laser chip 31 is attached on a chip mount 5 by bonding.
An Au wire 33 is connected to the semiconductor laser chip 5 for injecting current into the chip. Light is emitted from a point 32. In contrast to the chips shown in Figure 1, this semiconductor laser chip 31 has no dielectric film formed on its resonator-defining end surfaces.
According to this conventional method, the entire semicon-ductor assembly with the resonator-defining end surfaces exposed to ambience, shown in Figure 2(a), is coated with an Si3N4 film 34 by, for example, a plasma CVD (P-CVD) technique, as shown in Figure 2(b). After that, the assembly is subjected to a next manufacturing step such as a testing step.
According to the method as illustrated by Figure 1, the multi-layered dielectric films Z3 are formed only on the end faces of the semiconductor bodies 21, i.e. only on the resonator-defining end surfaces of the respective semiconductor laser chips, and the side surfaces of the chips are exposed to ambience. Therefore, in, for example, a testing step after assemblage, foreign substances such as dust may adhere to p-n junctions on the exposed side faces of the chips, which impedes desired performance of the device. Furthermore, if such p-n junctions are near a chip surface at which it is die-bonded to a mount, part of metallic soldering material used for die-bonding may contact the p-n junctions to thereby make the semiconductor laser device inoperative or degrade the performance.
On the other hand, according to the method of making the semi-conductor laser chip 31 shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), the uniform Si3N~ film 34 is disposed over the entire surfaces of the chip 31 and the chip mount 5 after the chip 31 is die-bonded to the mount 5. Therefore, according to this method, the reflectivities o$ the respective resonator-defining end surfaces of the chip 200~47~

cannot be controlled. Consequently, it is practically imposslble to provide semiconductor laser chlps wlth deslred characterlstlcs by controlllng reflectivities at the resonator-definlng end surfaces.
The above-described problems are elimlnated by the present invention which provides a novel method of maklng a semlconductor laser devlce~ According to the present lnventlon, reflectivlties of the resonator-deflning end surfaces of a semiconductor laser chip can be controlled, while preventing degradation of the characteristics of the semiconductor laser chip.
SUNMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a broad aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making a semiconductor laser device, comprising the steps of:
formlng a reflectlon control film of a dielectric material on at least one of resonator end surfaces including a surface from which laser llght is emitted and an opposite surface, of a semiconductor laser chip for controlling the reflectivity of said at least one end surface;
bondlng the semlconductor laser chip with said reflectivity control film formed thereon to a chip mount; and after bonding the semiconductor laser chip to the chip mount, forming a protection insulating film to cover the entire surfaces of the semiconductor laser chlp;
ln order to prevent varlations of the controlled reflectivity of sald at least one surface which would otherwise be caused by ' 3 , ; , . ,: : :

.

200~73 forming protecting lnsulating fllm formed over the entlre ~urfàces of the semiconductor laser chip, the thickness of the protectlng insulating film on said at least one end surface being selected to be N ~ /2n), where N is a na~ural number, ~ is the wavelength of the laser light, and n is the index of refraction of the protection insulating film.

. 3a .

-. ' ' `

20()5~73 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Now, the present invention is described with reference to the drawings. Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the semicon-ductor laser device manufacturing method according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4(a) is a perspective view of a semiconductor laser chip assembly in one of the manufacturing steps shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 4(a~, a semiconductor laser chip 1 is attached to a chip mount 5. Current is injected into the chip 1 through an Au wire 6.
Multi-layered or single-layered dielectric films 3 are disposed on the respective end surfaces defining a resonator, covering laser light emitting points 2 (only one of them being shown in Figure 4(a)) on the respective faces. The dielectric films 3 serve to control the reflectivities of the resonator-defining end surfaces and also to protect the end surfaces. In place of the dielectric films, metallic thin films may be disposed.
Now, the respective steps shown in Figure 3 are explained.
In the step Pl, a wafer having a plurality of active portions of semiconductor laser chips formed therein is divided into a plurality of bar-shaped semiconductor bodies by splitting or etching the wafer along cleavage planes, so that laser resonator-defining end surfaces are provided. Next, in a step P2, the dielectric multi-layered films 3 are formed on the front and back end surfaces of the chip defining the laser resonator therebetween so that desired end surface reflectivities may be provided. For example, for an end surface reflectivity of about 60%, the multi-layered dielectric film 3 may comprise a layer of Alz03 having a thickness of l/4nl, a layer of Si having a thickness of A/4n2 and a layer of Al203 having a thickness of A/4nl which are disposed and stacked in the named order on the respective end surfaces. A is a laser oscillation wavelength, nl is the index of refraction of Al203, and n2 is the index of refraction of Si.
In a step P3, the bar-shaped semiconductor body having the multi-layered dielectric films formed over the laser resonator-defining end surfaces is d~ced into separate semiconductor laser XC)0547:3 chips 1. In a step P4, each of the separated semlconductor laser chips 1 is bonded to the chip mount 5 80 that an assembly as shown in Figure 4~a) is produced. After that, in a step Ps, the entire semiconductor laser chip assembly is coated with the Si3N~ film 4 by, for example, P-CVD, so that a structure as shown in Figure 4(b) results. Alternatively, only the semiconductor laser chip 1, rather than the entire assembly, may be coated with Si3N~.
The laser resonator end surface reflectivities provided in the step P~ can be retained by forming the Si3N4 film 4 having a thickness of n(ll2n3) at the laser resonator defining surfaces, where N is a natural number, A is a laser oscillation wavelength, and n3 is the index of refraction of the si3n~.
Thus, the semiconductor laser chip assembly shown in Figure 4(b) is produced through the steps Pl-P5.
Needless to say, the structures and materials of the dielectric films 3 and the insulating film 4 are not limited to those which are used in the above-described example, but any other suitable structures and materials can be used.
As described above, according to the present invention, in order to control the reflectivity of at least one surface of a semiconductor laser chip the reflectivity of which should be controlled, a reflection control film is formed on that surface to control its reflectivity. Accordingly, it is possible to fabricate semiconductor laser chips having desired end surface reflectivities. Furthermore, since an insulating film is formed over the entire chip after it is bonded to a chip mount, a p-n junction in the semiconductor laser chip can be protected from foreign materials such as dust during, for example, a test step.
Thus, according to the present invention, highly reliable semiconductor laser devices can be produced.

Claims (9)

1. A method of making a semiconductor laser device, comprising the steps of:
forming a reflection control film of a dielectric material on at least one of resonator end surfaces including a surface from which laser light is emitted and an opposite surface, of a semiconductor laser chip for controlling the reflectivity of said at least one end surface;
bonding the semiconductor laser chip with said reflectivity control film formed thereon to a chip mount; and after bonding the semiconductor laser chip to the chip mount, forming a protection insulating film to cover the entire surfaces of the semiconductor laser chip;
in order to prevent variations of the controlled reflectivity of said at least one surface which would otherwise be caused by forming protecting insulating film formed over the entire surfaces of the semiconductor laser chip, the thickness of the protecting insulating film on said at least one end surface being selected to be N (.lambda. /2n), where N is a natural number, .lambda. is the wavelength of the laser light, and n is the index of refraction of the protection insulating film.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said reflection control film comprises a multi-layered dielectric film.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said multi-layered dielectric film comprises a layer of Al2O3 having a thickness of .lambda./4n1, a layer of Si having a thickness of .lambda./4n2, and a layer of Al2O3 having a thickness of .lambda./4n1 which are stacked on said end surface in the named order, where .lambda. is a laser oscillation wavelength, n1 is the index of refraction of Al2O3 and n2 is the index of refraction of Si, whereby an end surface reflectivity of about 60% is obtained.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said reflection control film is a single-layered dielectric layer.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said reflection control film is a metal thin film.
6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said protecting insulating film is Si3N4.
7. A method according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein said insulating film is an Si3N4 film.
8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said reflection control film is an Si3N4 film has a thickness of N(.lambda./2n3), where N is a natural number, .lambda. is a laser oscillation wavelength, and n3 is the index of refraction of said Si3N4 film.
9. A method according to claim 6, wherein the thickness of said Si3N4 film is N(.lambda./2n3), where N is a natural number, .lambda. is a laser oscillation wavelength, and n3 is the index of refraction of said Si3N4 film.
CA 2005473 1989-08-18 1989-12-14 Method of making semiconductor laser device Expired - Fee Related CA2005473C (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002103716A CA2103716C (en) 1989-08-18 1989-12-14 Method of making semiconductor laser device

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JPHEI1-213574 1989-08-18
JP21357489A JPH0728103B2 (en) 1989-08-18 1989-08-18 Method of manufacturing semiconductor laser device

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002103716A Division CA2103716C (en) 1989-08-18 1989-12-14 Method of making semiconductor laser device

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2005473A1 CA2005473A1 (en) 1991-02-18
CA2005473C true CA2005473C (en) 1993-11-02

Family

ID=16641457

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2005473 Expired - Fee Related CA2005473C (en) 1989-08-18 1989-12-14 Method of making semiconductor laser device

Country Status (2)

Country Link
JP (1) JPH0728103B2 (en)
CA (1) CA2005473C (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH09129976A (en) * 1995-11-01 1997-05-16 Oki Electric Ind Co Ltd Passivation of edge of semiconductor laser

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH0728103B2 (en) 1995-03-29
JPH0376292A (en) 1991-04-02
CA2005473A1 (en) 1991-02-18

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