JPH10223984A - Semiconductor laser device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of the components of a semiconductor laser device by arranging a sub-mount on the main surface of a metallic platy member and a laser diode on the sub-mount so that the optical axis of the diode may become parallel to the main surface and sealing the sub-mount and diode with a transparent member. SOLUTION: An LD chip 1, a sub-mount 2, and a metallic frame 41 are prepared and the chip 1 is mounted on the main surface of the frame 41 through the sub-mount 2 so that the bottom face of the chip 1 may become parallel to the mounting surface of the frame 41. Then the frame 41 is placed in a metallic mold and the chip 1 and sub-mount 2 are sealed by forming a transparent molded resin 9 by injecting a resin into the mold and heating and curing the resin. Of the top and bottom parts of the mold, the parts corresponding to a laser light transmitting area 10 are formed in faces which are perpendicular to the main surface of the frame 41. Since no metallic block is required for attaching the LD chip 1 so that the chip 1 may emit laser light perpendicularly to the frame 41, the number of the components of a semiconductor laser device can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor laser device in which a laser diode disposed on a metal frame is sealed with a mold resin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional semiconductor laser device. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a laser diode (hereinafter referred to as an LD); The thickness of the metal block in the direction perpendicular to the surface on which the LD 1 is mounted is about 1400 μm. 2 is a metal block 3
Is a submount made of Si or the like for relaxing stress applied to the LD 1 due to thermal expansion and contraction of the LD1.
m. 4 is a bottom member of the package, 5 is a wire, 6 is a metal cap, 6a is an opening provided at the bottom of the metal cap 6, 7 is a window made of a material transparent to laser light such as glass, and 8 is A laser beam emitted from the LD 1 and 20 is a metal lead. This semiconductor laser device is a so-called can type in which the LD 1 and the like are hermetically sealed by a metal cap 6.
When a current is passed through the laser diode 1, the laser beam 8 is emitted from the emission end face of the LD 1, and this laser beam 8 passes through the window 7 and is emitted from the semiconductor laser device.

Next, a manufacturing method will be described. First,
The LD 1 is die-bonded to the metal block 3 via the submount 2. Subsequently, the metal block 3 is mounted on the main surface of the bottom member 4 of the package so that the laser beam 8 is emitted vertically. Thereafter, the LD 1 is electrically connected to the metal lead 20 via the wire 5.

Subsequently, a window 7 is adhered to the bottom of the metal cap 6 so as to cover the opening 6a of the metal cap 6,
In order to protect the LD 1 from the external environment, a metal cap 6 is welded on the main surface of the package bottom member 4 so as to cover the LD 1, the submount 2, and the metal block 3 as shown in FIG.
Is obtained.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional can type semiconductor laser device, the laser beam 8 is taken out perpendicular to the main surface of the package bottom member 4, as described above. The metal block 3 is provided on the metal block 3, and the LD 1 is mounted on the metal block 3 so that the optical axis thereof is perpendicular to the bottom member 4. Therefore, it is necessary to use a metal block 3 having a sufficient size that can be arranged on the bottom member 4, for example, a metal block having a thickness of about 1400 μm.

However, when the metal block 3 is used, the step of attaching the metal block 3 to the package 4
A so-called block bond assembling process is required, which complicates the production process and increases the number of members, so that defects due to assembling are likely to occur. As a result, there is a problem that the production cost increases.

Further, as shown in FIG.
It is necessary to attach a metal cap 6 that covers the device, so that the overall size of the device becomes large, and there has been a problem that it is not possible to reduce the size, especially the thickness.

Here, the submount 2 which is usually made of a semiconductor material having a very small thickness without the metal block 3 is provided.
The submount 2 on which the LD 1 is mounted is mounted on the LD
Although it is conceivable to adopt a structure in which the optical axis 1 is disposed on the bottom member 4 such that the optical axis is perpendicular to the main surface of the bottom member 4, in such a structure, the submount 2 made of a semiconductor material becomes Since heat conduction to metal is poor, the heat radiation of the LD 1 cannot be sufficiently performed, and the LD 1 cannot perform a desired operation due to heat generation. Therefore, if the structure is not provided with the metal block 3, a semiconductor laser device having desired characteristics cannot be obtained.

As described above, in the conventional semiconductor laser device, it is necessary to provide the metal block for mounting the LD, so that the production process is complicated, the production cost is increased, and the size is reduced. There was a problem that can not be.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a semiconductor laser device which can be manufactured at low cost and can be reduced in size.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor laser device comprising: a plate member made of metal; a submount disposed on a main surface of the plate member; A laser diode disposed so that the axial direction is parallel to the main surface of the plate member, and a transparent member disposed on the main surface of the plate member so as to seal the submount and the laser diode. It is prepared for.

Further, in the semiconductor laser device according to the present invention, the transparent member is inclined such that the side surface thereof is inclined upward toward the side where the laser diode is provided with respect to the plate member. In addition, the position of the side surface where the laser light emitted from the laser diode is transmitted is perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the laser diode.

Further, in the semiconductor laser device according to the present invention, the transparent member is inclined such that a side surface thereof is inclined upward in a direction toward the side where the laser diode is provided with respect to the plate member. On both sides of the area of the plate-like member where the transparent member is provided, there are provided leads extending downward with respect to the main surface of the plate-like member, respectively. The plane determined by the portion has a shape parallel to the direction of refraction of the laser light emitted by being refracted on the side surface of the transparent member.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of a semiconductor laser device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a laser diode (hereinafter referred to as LD), 2 denotes a submount having a thickness of about 150 to 250 μm, 41 denotes a metal frame which is a plate-shaped member made of metal, and LD1 denotes a metal frame 41 via a submount 2. Is mounted on the main surface. At this time, the submount 2 functions to alleviate the stress generated during the operation of the LD 1 due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the metal frame 41 and the LD 1, and the thickness of the sub mount 2 reduces the heat radiation from the LD 1 to the metal frame 41. The thickness is adjusted so as not to interfere. 8 is a laser beam, 9 is L
D1 is a transparent mold resin 9 that is provided to cover the portion where the LD 1 and the like of the metal mount 41 are disposed, and is a member that is transparent to the laser light 9. For example, a member made of another material may be used. Reference numerals 91 and 92 denote side surfaces of the mold resin 9. The side surfaces 91 and 92 are inclined at a predetermined angle in the height direction of the frame 41 toward the direction in which the LD 1 and the like of the frame 41 are placed. . Reference numeral 10 denotes a region of the side surface portion 91 through which the laser beam 8 emitted from the LD 1 in particular passes. The transmission region 10 is a surface perpendicular to the main surface of the metal frame 41. The dimension of the transmission region 10 is about 0.1 to 0.3 nm in width. In the drawings, wire wiring and the like are omitted.

Next, the manufacturing method will be described. First,
LD chip 1, submount 2, and metal frame 41
Is prepared, and the LD chip 1 is inserted through the submount 2,
It is mounted on the main surface of the metal frame 41 so that its bottom surface and the mounting surface of the metal frame 41 are parallel.

Subsequently, a mold (not shown) composed of an upper mold and a lower mold having a concave portion is prepared, and the LD chip 1, the submount 2, and the metal frame 4 are provided in the concave portions of the upper and lower molds.
1 is placed so as to sandwich the portion on which the LD chip 1 and the like are placed, and the resin is injected into the mold to form the outer shape of the resin, and the resin is cured by further heating. Thus, a mold resin 9 for protecting the LD 1 from the external environment is formed. At this time, in order to make it easier to remove the resin from the upper and lower molds after molding the side surfaces of the mold resin 9 in advance, the shape of the side surfaces of the upper and lower molds is such that the LD 1 becomes larger as the formed mold resin 9 moves away from the metal frame 41. 5 to 2 in the direction provided
The shape is formed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle of about 0 °. Further, only the portion of the upper and lower molds corresponding to the laser light transmitting region 10 of the mold resin 9 is
The shape is such that the formed transmission region 10 is formed as a surface perpendicular to the metal frame 41. Thereafter, the semiconductor laser device as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained by extracting the mold resin 9 from the mold.

The semiconductor laser device of the first embodiment has an L
By applying a voltage to D1 and driving it, laser light 8 is emitted from the emission end face of LD1 and the emitted laser light 8 is parallel to metal frame 41 and transparent mold resin 9
Are transmitted through the transmission region 10 and emitted.

In the first embodiment, the LD 1 is mounted on the main surface of the metal frame 41 via the submount 2 so that the direction of the optical axis, that is, the emission direction of the laser beam is
Is placed parallel to the main surface of the laser beam 8.
Is emitted in a direction parallel to the main surface of the metal frame 41, and as described in the related art, a metal block for attaching an LD is used to emit laser light perpendicularly to the metal frame. This eliminates the need to provide a semiconductor laser device, thereby reducing the number of components of the semiconductor laser device, eliminating the step of attaching the metal block, and shortening the operation steps. Further, by eliminating the metal block, the size of the entire semiconductor laser device can be reduced, and in particular, its thickness can be reduced.

Usually, in the LD, the direction of the optical axis,
That is, the length in the direction in which the laser light is emitted is longer than the thickness. Therefore, in the conventional semiconductor laser device, it is necessary to arrange the LD so that the optical axis direction is in the thickness direction of the semiconductor laser device. In the semiconductor laser device, since the LD 1 can be arranged so that the thickness direction thereof becomes the thickness direction of the semiconductor laser device, the thickness of the semiconductor laser device can be reduced.

Further, since the LD 1 is mounted on the metal frame 41 via the submount 2 having a sufficiently small thickness, the heat radiated from the LD 1 during operation is also reduced from each region of the LD 1 to the metal frame 41. LD is performed efficiently and uniformly.
Laser characteristics do not deteriorate due to heat generated during operation.

Further, in general, when molding resin with upper and lower molds, an LD or the like to be protected by the mold resin is mounted on the side surface of the mold resin in order to easily remove the molded resin from the upper and lower molds. It is formed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle, for example, 5 to 20 °, with respect to the main surface of the placed metal frame toward the side on which the LD or the like is placed. However, in this case, when the laser light is emitted in parallel with the main surface of the metal frame 41 as in the first embodiment, the laser light 8 emitted in front of the LD 1 is refracted on the side surface of the mold resin, Metal frame 41
The light is emitted not parallel to the main surface. That is, the refraction of the laser light causes an angular deviation of the optical axis of the laser light. For example, when this laser is used for reading a disk, the emitted laser light is disc-shaped using an external lens or the like. Even if an attempt is made to irradiate the upper predetermined position, a shift occurs.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment,
Only the region 10 of the mold resin 9 through which the laser light is transmitted is a surface perpendicular to the metal frame 41, the draft of the mold to the mold resin is made zero, and the other sides 91 and 92 of the mold resin 9 are removed. The portion is structured to be inclined with respect to the metal frame 41, so that the laser light 8
Is emitted in parallel with the metal frame 41 without being refracted in the transmission region 10, and the emitted laser beam does not have a shift in the optical axis due to refraction, and the other side surface is inclined with respect to the metal frame 41. By this, the mold resin 9 can be easily extracted from the upper and lower molds.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the LD 1 is mounted on the metal frame 41 via the submount 2, and the surfaces of the LD 1 and the submount 2 are covered with the transparent mold resin 9. Thus, the laser light 8
Is emitted in a direction parallel to the main surface of the metal frame 41. Therefore, unlike a conventional can-type semiconductor laser device, there is no need to provide a metal block, and the number of members is reduced and the manufacturing process is shortened. In addition, the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor laser device can be reduced, the semiconductor laser device can be manufactured at low cost, and the effect that the semiconductor laser device can be reduced in size, particularly, the thickness can be reduced by eliminating the metal block.

Further, the side surfaces 91 and 92 of the mold resin 9 are inclined in the direction of the submount toward the upper side of the metal frame 41, and the laser light on the side surface 91 of the mold resin 9 is transmitted. Since the region is a surface perpendicular to the main surface of the metal frame 41,
During the manufacturing process, the laser light 8 is emitted from the side surface of the mold resin 9 so that the optical axis of the laser light 8 is parallel to the main surface of the metal frame 41 without impairing the ease of removing the mold resin 9 from the mold. This has the effect of eliminating a shift in the emission direction of the laser light 8.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of the semiconductor laser device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts, 11 is a substrate for mounting a semiconductor laser device,
Leads 42 and 43 are provided on both sides of the mold resin 9 of the metal frame 41 and extend downward with respect to the metal frame 41.

The semiconductor laser device according to the second embodiment is different from the semiconductor laser device according to the first embodiment in that the transparent region 10 is not provided on the side surface 91 of the mold resin 9 and the mold resin 9 of the metal frame 41 is formed. Are provided on both side portions of the metal frame 41 with leads 42 and 43 extending downward from the metal frame 41, respectively.
When the semiconductor laser device is mounted on a flat surface at the ends of the leads 42 and 43 by adjusting the length of the 43 and the inclination angle with respect to the metal frame 41, the semiconductor laser device is refracted and emitted from the side surface 91 of the mold resin 9. The direction of the optical axis of the laser beam is parallel to the plane on which the leads are mounted.

Usually, the semiconductor laser device is used by being mounted on a substrate or the like. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the laser beam 8 emitted from the side surface of the mold resin 9 is refracted. In consideration of the angle deviation of the optical axis, when the semiconductor laser device is mounted on the substrate 11, the laser light 8 emitted from the side surface 91 of the mold resin 9 is emitted in parallel with the main surface of the substrate 11. By adjusting the heights of the leads 42 and 43 at the same time, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the shift of the optical axis of the laser beam can be corrected.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plate-like member made of metal, a submount disposed on the main surface of the plate-like member, and an optical axis direction on the submount are provided. A laser diode disposed parallel to the main surface of the plate member, and a transparent member disposed on the main surface of the plate member so as to seal the submount and the laser diode. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a metal block, the number of parts can be reduced, the manufacturing process can be shortened, the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor laser device can be reduced, the semiconductor laser device can be provided at low cost, and the size can be reduced. There is an effect that a semiconductor laser device can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, the transparent member has a side surface which is inclined toward the direction on the side where the laser diode is provided, as the side surface is directed upward with respect to the plate-like member. The position where the laser light emitted from the laser diode on the side surface is transmitted,
Since the laser diode is perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the laser diode, the optical axis direction of the laser light is adjusted to the direction of the metal frame without impairing the ease of removing the transparent member from the mold during the manufacturing process. The laser light can be emitted from the side surface of the mold resin while being kept parallel to the main surface, and there is an effect that a semiconductor laser device in which the deviation of the emission direction of the laser light is eliminated can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, the transparent member has a side surface inclined upward toward the side where the laser diode is provided with respect to the plate-like member. On both sides of the area of the plate-shaped member where the transparent member is provided, leads extending downward from the main surface of the plate-shaped member are provided, respectively.
Since each of the leads has such a shape that the plane determined by the end thereof is parallel to the refraction direction of the laser light emitted by being refracted on the side surface of the transparent member, There is an effect that it is possible to provide a semiconductor laser device in which the deviation of the optical axis is corrected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of a semiconductor laser device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a structure of a semiconductor laser device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a structure of a conventional semiconductor laser device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 laser diode, 2 submount, 3 metal block, 4 bottom member, 5 metal wire, 6 metal cap, 6a opening, 7 window, 8 laser beam, 9 molding resin, 20 metal lead, 41 metal frame, 4
2,43 leads, 91,92 side of mold resin,
10 laser light transmission area, 11 substrate.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plate-like member made of metal, a submount disposed on a main surface of the plate-like member, and an optical axis direction on the submount being parallel to the main surface of the plate-like member. 1. A semiconductor laser device, comprising: a laser diode disposed so as to form a transparent member disposed on a main surface of a plate-like member so as to seal the submount and the laser diode. 2. The semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein a side surface of the transparent member is inclined toward a side on which the laser diode is provided as a side surface of the transparent member is directed upward with respect to the plate member. And a position on the side surface of the side surface through which the laser light emitted from the laser diode passes is perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the laser diode. 3. The semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein a side surface of the transparent member is inclined toward a side on which the laser diode is provided, as a side surface of the transparent member is directed upward with respect to the plate-shaped member. On both sides of the area of the plate member where the transparent member is provided, there are provided leads extending downward with respect to the main surface of the plate member, respectively. A semiconductor laser device, wherein a plane determined by the end has a shape parallel to a refraction direction of laser light emitted by being refracted on a side surface of the transparent member.