EP1468476A1 - Diode laser a resonateur vertical et procede de fabrication associe - Google Patents

Diode laser a resonateur vertical et procede de fabrication associe

Info

Publication number
EP1468476A1
EP1468476A1 EP02706656A EP02706656A EP1468476A1 EP 1468476 A1 EP1468476 A1 EP 1468476A1 EP 02706656 A EP02706656 A EP 02706656A EP 02706656 A EP02706656 A EP 02706656A EP 1468476 A1 EP1468476 A1 EP 1468476A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
layer
laser diode
antioxidation
diode according
layers
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP02706656A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Gunther Steinle
Hans-Dietrich Wolf
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.)
Infineon Technologies AG
Original Assignee
Infineon Technologies AG
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 Infineon Technologies AG filed Critical Infineon Technologies AG
Publication of EP1468476A1 publication Critical patent/EP1468476A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/18—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities
    • H01S5/183—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
    • H01S5/18308—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] having a special structure for lateral current or light confinement
    • H01S5/18311—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] having a special structure for lateral current or light confinement using selective oxidation
    • H01S5/18313—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] having a special structure for lateral current or light confinement using selective oxidation by oxidizing at least one of the DBR layers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S2301/00—Functional characteristics
    • H01S2301/17—Semiconductor lasers comprising special layers
    • H01S2301/173—The laser chip comprising special buffer layers, e.g. dislocation prevention or reduction
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S2301/00—Functional characteristics
    • H01S2301/17—Semiconductor lasers comprising special layers
    • H01S2301/176—Specific passivation layers on surfaces other than the emission facet
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/18—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities
    • H01S5/183—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
    • H01S5/18308—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] having a special structure for lateral current or light confinement
    • H01S5/18311—Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] having a special structure for lateral current or light confinement using selective oxidation
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/20—Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers
    • H01S5/2054—Methods of obtaining the confinement
    • H01S5/2081—Methods of obtaining the confinement using special etching techniques
    • H01S5/209—Methods of obtaining the confinement using special etching techniques special etch stop layers

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a laser diode according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for its production according to the preamble of claim 11.
  • VCSEL vertical cavity emitting laser
  • edge-emitting laser light is amplified transversely to a layer structure in a VCSEL, an active layer being arranged between mirror layers arranged vertically one above the other.
  • VCSELs are usually produced by etching a single or a multiple mesa structure with subsequent wet-thermal oxidation. For some layers, selective oxidation takes place in a targeted manner around a defined current path
  • the mirror layers (Bragg reflectors) above and below the active layer sometimes have a high aluminum content in order to achieve good reflection properties.
  • These mirror layers with a high aluminum content are involuntarily oxidized during the production of the necessary oxide layers (eg stropore fabric). This undesirable oxidation is disadvantageous because a conversion of the semiconductor material into an oxide causes local stresses due to the volume changes in the material.
  • the intentionally oxidized layers were previously made very thin (between 15 and 30 nm).
  • the unintentionally oxidized layers cannot be made arbitrarily thin, since a certain thickness (for example ⁇ / 4n) is required for optimal reflection properties.
  • a thickness of approx. 70nm should be available. Since VCSEL structures typically have between 60 and 70 pairs of mirrors, up to 70 layers with a high aluminum content are inadvertently oxidized, which leads to considerable tension in the outer area of the etched mesa.
  • the present invention has for its object to provide a laser diode with a vertical resonator, in which the tensions are reduced by unintentional oxidation.
  • At least one antioxidation layer made of a III-V semiconductor material with a molar aluminum content of less than 0.7 is arranged between mirror layers of a vertical resonator and / or at least one antioxidation layer made of a III-V semiconductor material with a optical thickness of at least two quarter wavelengths is arranged. This creates a layer with a reduced oxidation rate and / or ensures a controlled etching on a layer with a lower oxidation rate.
  • Both the setting of the aluminum content and the choice of the thickness of the antioxidation layer can be used together or individually to bring about a reduced oxidation rate.
  • the low molar aluminum content lowers the tendency to oxidize the antioxidant layer. This minimizes local tension caused by the increase in volume in the material. The reduction in local stresses improves the reliability of the laser diode. Also will improves the defect concentration in the area of the active layer by reducing the oxide-semiconductor interfaces.
  • Another advantage of the antioxidation layer is the improved adhesion of dielectric layers or polymer layers and a simplified further etching after an oxidation, since little or no oxide has to be removed.
  • an antioxidant layer consists of Al x Ga ⁇ - x As or In y Al x Ga ⁇ - x -yAs ⁇ - z P z .
  • the quintary material forms, for example, a chemical etch stop layer.
  • the thickness of the antioxidation layer is advantageously not important in this.
  • At least one antioxidation layer is arranged above an active layer and / or if at least one antioxidation layer is arranged below an active layer. If the antioxidation layer is arranged above the active layer, this is not impaired in an oxidation step. If the antioxidant layer is located below the active layer one, e.g. current aperture produced by selective oxidation, which is arranged above the active layer, lie close to the active layer.
  • an antioxidation layer and an active layer are arranged in a layer structure without the interposition of a further layer.
  • the antioxidation layer advantageously has an optical thickness of at least two quarter wavelengths. It is particularly advantageous if at least one antioxidation layer is designed as an etch stop and / or etch outlet layer.
  • At least one antioxidant layer is at least partially absorption modulation can be minimized.
  • a further reduction in the local tension in the material can be achieved if at least one mirror layer, which is arranged in particular in the vicinity of an active layer, has a molar aluminum content of less than 0.9. This means that this mirror layer is less oxidized.
  • the object is also achieved by a method according to the preamble of claim 11.
  • a low-stress laser diode is obtained if at least one antioxidation layer made of a III-V semiconductor material with a molar aluminum content of less than 0.7 and / or at least one antioxidation layer made of a III-V semiconductor material with a between the mirror layers optical thickness of at least two quarter wavelengths is arranged.
  • an antioxidation layer made of Al x Ga ⁇ _ x As or a chemically selective etching stop layer, in particular InyAlxGai_ x . y As 1 . 2 P 2 installed.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of a laser diode with a vertical resonator according to the prior art.
  • 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of the laser diode according to the invention with a vertical resonator;
  • FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of the laser diode according to the invention with vertical resonator #
  • FIG. 1 shows a sectional view through a known laser diode with a vertical resonator.
  • the function of such VCSEL is known in principle (e.g. Jewell et al., Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser: Design, Growth, Fabrication, Characterization; IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Vol. 27, No. 6, June 1991; pp. 1332ff ; SO Kasap, Optoelectronics and Photonics, Principles and Practices, Pretice-Hall, 2001), so that only the relationships essential to the invention are described in this description.
  • the active layer can be arranged both in the upper, small mesa A (cf. FIG. 2) or in the lower, larger mesa B (cf. FIG. 3); for the sake of simplicity, the active layer is not shown in FIG. 1.
  • the layer stack of the VCSEL has a current aperture 10, which is arranged here in the upper mesa A.
  • the current flow S with the increased current density in the area of the current aperture 10 is indicated by arrows.
  • the current aperture 10 is formed by an intentionally oxidized layer with a high oxidation rate.
  • mirror layers are arranged which have a high molar aluminum content.
  • etched through mirror layers with a high aluminum content are unintentionally oxidized on the side, the oxidized regions 11 in
  • Fig. 1 are shown as an example. Through this inadvertent Oxidations lead to local tension in the outer area of the etched mesa.
  • the VCSEL should be designed as a top emitter, i.e. the laser radiation leaves the layer stack at the upper edge.
  • bottom emitters are also possible.
  • FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the laser diode according to the invention, which is intended to avoid these tensions.
  • At least one antioxidation layer 1 is arranged below an active layer 2. In the second embodiment according to FIG. 3, this is exactly the opposite.
  • an intermediate layer (here mirror layer 5) is arranged between antioxidation layer 1 and active layer 2, so that the two layers do not adjoin one another directly.
  • the antioxidation layer 1 is formed here from Al ⁇ Ga! - x s.
  • the molar aluminum fraction is referred to here as x.
  • III-V material systems can be used, in particular binary, ternary or quaternary (eg In-GaAlAs) or quintary (eg In y l ⁇ Ga ⁇ - x - y As ⁇ - z P z ) material systems can be used. In these systems the molar
  • the antioxidation layer 1 has a negligible oxidizability, ie the oxidized layer is only a few nanometers thick, so that the oxide which is nevertheless formed by physical processes (eg sputtering) or chemical processes is removable without affecting the rest of the structure.
  • the antioxidation layer 1 has a molar aluminum content of less than 0.7.
  • the aluminum content can be chosen to be so small that just little or no absorption occurs at the layer.
  • antioxidant layers 1 according to the invention with aluminum fractions of less than 0.3, in particular also with aluminum fractions in the range between 0.2 and 0.10. These examples apply to a wavelength of 850nm.
  • the aim is to choose a small amount of aluminum in order to obtain the best possible antioxidant effect.
  • Al x Ga ⁇ _ x As it is advantageous if the wavelength of the laser diode and the molar aluminum portion of the antioxidant layer are functionally linked by the following general relation:
  • the molar aluminum content in each case the case is functionally linked to the wavelength of the laser diode.
  • the functional relationships are either known or can be determined in a targeted manner.
  • the antioxidation layer 1 has a sufficient optical thickness, this thickness being at least two quarter-wave lengths.
  • the thickness of the antioxidation layer is adapted to the properties of the etching process used, in particular the uniformity of the process, so that the etching can be stopped safely in the area of the antioxidation layer 1 or the etching can run out in the antioxidation layer 1.
  • the thickness of the antioxidation layer 1 also ensures a distance between strained oxidized layers and the active layer 2.
  • an antioxidation layer 1 prevents the formation of larger interface areas between the oxide material and the semiconductor material above and / or below the active layer 2. Defects of the interface areas could be induced in the active area during operation of the laser diode.
  • mirror layers 5 with a reduced oxidation rate are arranged in the vicinity of the active layer 2 (Al x Ga ⁇ _ x As, with x ⁇ 0.9) in order to reduce the local stresses.
  • the reduced aluminum content results in less oxide volume, which leads to a reduction in tension.
  • the antioxidation layer 1 is modulation-doped, ie the areas in which the standing wave intensity in the vertical resonator is maximum, have a lower doping. The doping in areas of minimal standing wave intensity is increased.
  • a p-contact 4 is arranged on the top of the small mesa A, laser light being able to emerge in an uncovered area (top emitter).
  • the second embodiment which is shown in FIG. 3, differs primarily in that the antioxidation layer 1 is arranged above the active layer 2. As in the first embodiment, an intermediate layer (here mirror layer 5) is provided between the antioxidation layer 1 and the active layer 2. Alternatively, no or more intermediate layers can also be provided.
  • the second embodiment also has mirror layers 5 (Al x Ga ⁇ - x As, with x ⁇ 0.9) with a reduced oxidation rate in the vicinity of the active layer 2 in order to reduce the local stresses.
  • the antioxidation layer can also be modulation-doped here.
  • the oxidation is carried out immediately after the first mesa etching in order to avoid oxidation below the layers to be oxidized intentionally (e.g. current aperture).
  • an antioxidation layer 1 is shown in each of the two embodiments. In principle, several such layers can also be used in a layer structure. In principle, an antioxidation layer 1 can also be arranged above a current aperture layer 10, wherein after the etching, the exposed layers and etching flanks can be protected against oxidation by means of a suitable covering layer by subsequent process steps.
  • a preferred material for the cover layer is, for example, CVD-SiN x .
  • the embodiment of the invention is not limited to the preferred exemplary embodiments specified above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable which make use of the laser diode according to the invention and the method for its production, even in the case of fundamentally different types.

Abstract

L'invention concerne une diode laser à résonateur vertical et un procédé de fabrication associé, selon lequel au moins une couche active (2) est disposée entre des couches miroirs. L'invention est caractérisée en ce qu'entre ces couches miroirs (3) se trouvent au moins une couche antioxydante (1) en matériau semi-conducteur III-V dont la part molaire d'aluminium est inférieure à 0,7 et/ou au moins une couche antioxydante (1) en matériau semi-conducteur III-V dont l'épaisseur optique est au moins égale à deux quarts d'onde, des déformations dues à une oxydation involontaire étant ainsi évitées.
EP02706656A 2002-01-25 2002-01-25 Diode laser a resonateur vertical et procede de fabrication associe Withdrawn EP1468476A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/DE2002/000337 WO2003063310A1 (fr) 2002-01-25 2002-01-25 Diode laser a resonateur vertical et procede de fabrication associe

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1468476A1 true EP1468476A1 (fr) 2004-10-20

Family

ID=27587822

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02706656A Withdrawn EP1468476A1 (fr) 2002-01-25 2002-01-25 Diode laser a resonateur vertical et procede de fabrication associe

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (1) US7075961B2 (fr)
EP (1) EP1468476A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2003063310A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2005340567A (ja) * 2004-05-28 2005-12-08 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd 表面発光型半導体レーザ素子およびその製造方法
CN101918192A (zh) 2007-10-22 2010-12-15 马斯特模具（2007）有限公司 注射模制装置
US20110044364A1 (en) * 2009-08-19 2011-02-24 The Regents Of The University Of California STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR ACHIEVING SELECTIVE ETCHING IN (Ga,Al,In,B)N LASER DIODES
JP2012089611A (ja) * 2010-10-18 2012-05-10 Sumitomo Electric Ind Ltd 面発光型半導体素子の製造方法
JP2019040953A (ja) * 2017-08-23 2019-03-14 住友電気工業株式会社 垂直共振型面発光レーザ、垂直共振型面発光レーザを作製する方法

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JP2757633B2 (ja) * 1990-12-28 1998-05-25 日本電気株式会社 面発光半導体レーザ
US5262360A (en) 1990-12-31 1993-11-16 The Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois AlGaAs native oxide
US5557626A (en) * 1994-06-15 1996-09-17 Motorola Patterned mirror VCSEL with adjustable selective etch region
US5719891A (en) * 1995-12-18 1998-02-17 Picolight Incorporated Conductive element with lateral oxidation barrier
US5881085A (en) * 1996-07-25 1999-03-09 Picolight, Incorporated Lens comprising at least one oxidized layer and method for forming same
JPH10200210A (ja) * 1997-01-10 1998-07-31 Nec Corp 面発光レーザの製造方法
US6549553B1 (en) * 1998-02-25 2003-04-15 Nippon Telegraph And Telephone Corporation Vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor laser
JP2002164621A (ja) * 2000-11-28 2002-06-07 Furukawa Electric Co Ltd:The 面発光半導体レーザ素子

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
See references of WO03063310A1 *

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Publication number Publication date
WO2003063310A1 (fr) 2003-07-31
US20040042517A1 (en) 2004-03-04
US7075961B2 (en) 2006-07-11

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