KR20150066148A - Nitride semiconductor based optical integrated circuit and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an optical integrated circuit. More specifically, the present invention relates to a nitride semiconductor-based optical integrated circuit and a manufacturing method thereof. In a nitride semiconductor based optical integrated circuit formed on the same substrate, the present invention may include a substrate; a light emitting part which is formed on one side of the substrate and includes nitride semiconductor; a light receiving part which is formed on the other side of the substrate; and a transmission part which connects the light emitting part and the light receiving part on the substrate and includes nitride semiconductor.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light integrated circuit, and more particularly, to a light integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor and a method of manufacturing the same.

In general, an optical integrated circuit refers to a circuit in which various optical elements having different structures and functions, such as active elements and passive elements, active elements and active elements, or passive elements and passive elements, are optically connected in one substrate .

Particularly, it is technically very limited to implement the active element such as the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion and the passive element including the transmission and functional elements based on the same material. Therefore, , Or it is generally implemented through an additional coupling process through an optical fiber or the like with respect to necessary functions having only some functions.

Therefore, the optical transmission and reception device accompanied by such additional optical alignment and coupling process is not only complicated in manufacturing process, has a large volume, but also causes a large optical loss.

Indium phosphide (InP) or gallium arsenide (GaAs) based III-V compound semiconductors can be used as active materials and passive devices, .

In fact, such a compound semiconductor-based material can emit near-infrared light (850 nm to 1600 nm), which is an optical communication band, in combination with other elements of group III-V and has a high refractive index. Active devices such as photo diodes (PDs) and photo diodes (PDs) and passive devices based on optical waveguides are widely used in optical integrated circuits integrated with electric wiring.

However, since the cost of the substrate for growing these substrates is high, it is difficult to popularize them as various functional devices.

Nitride compound semiconductors typified by gallium nitride (GaN) have high thermal / chemical stability, mechanical strength, and wide bandgap (0.8 to 6.2 eV), and are commercialized as light emitting devices including LEDs and LDs But is also suitable as a light receiving element in the ultraviolet or visible light region.

In addition, research and development of nitride semiconductor-based light emitting devices using sapphire or silicon substrates have progressed rapidly, and the cost of substrates has been relatively inexpensive and significantly increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor which can be implemented on the same substrate, and a manufacturing method thereof.

Also, a nitride semiconductor-based optical integrated circuit having at least a part of the same semiconductor structure and a manufacturing method thereof are provided.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor implemented on the same substrate, comprising: a substrate; A light emitting portion provided on one side of the substrate and including a nitride semiconductor; A light receiving portion provided on the other side of the substrate and including a nitride semiconductor; And a transmitter including a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion connected to the substrate and including a nitride semiconductor.

Here, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion may have the same nitride semiconductor thin film structure.

At this time, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit include a buffer layer positioned on the substrate; A first conductive semiconductor layer located on the buffer layer; An active layer located on the first conductive semiconductor layer; And a second conductive semiconductor layer disposed on the active layer.

The first conductive semiconductor layer or the second conductive semiconductor layer may include a first GaN layer; An AlGaN layer located on the first GaN layer; And a second GaN layer positioned on the AlGaN layer.

Here, the light receiving unit and the transmitting unit may have the same nitride semiconductor thin film structure at least in part.

The transmitting unit may further include a sensor unit including a ring resonator.

The optical integrated circuit may further include a dielectric cover of the polymer material substrate, and the dielectric cover may include an opening exposing at least a part of the sensor unit.

The ring resonator may be provided in a plurality of rings.

Furthermore, it may further include an optical power splitter coupled with the plurality of ring resonators.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor implemented on the same substrate, comprising the steps of: forming a first nitride semiconductor on a substrate, Forming a first semiconductor structure including a conductive semiconductor layer, an active layer located on the first conductive semiconductor layer, and a second conductive semiconductor layer located on the active layer; Removing at least a portion of the first semiconductor structure on the first region to form a second semiconductor structure; And growing a non-doped nitride semiconductor layer on the second semiconductor structure to form a third semiconductor structure.

Here, the first semiconductor structure may be used as a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and the first region may be a transmitting portion.

The method may further include growing a conductive semiconductor layer on the undoped nitride semiconductor layer of the third semiconductor structure.

At least a part of the first conductive semiconductor layer or the second conductive semiconductor layer may include a first GaN layer; An AlGaN layer located on the first GaN layer; And a second GaN layer positioned on the AlGaN layer.

Here, removing at least a part of the first semiconductor structure to form the second semiconductor structure may include removing at least the active layer.

The method may further include forming a dielectric cover of the polymer material substrate on at least a part of the first semiconductor structure and the third semiconductor structure.

The present invention has the following effects.

Such a nitride semiconductor material-based optical integrated circuit integrates active elements such as LDs, LEDs, and PDs using light in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength ranges, and optical passive-based functional passive elements, Since it can be realized through an integrated process without optical alignment, the process difficulty and coupling loss can be minimized.

In addition, since the substrate cost and process cost are lower than those of optical integrated circuits based on semiconductor materials such as InP or GaAs, they are advantageous for mass production and diffusion of optical integrated circuits and sensors.

1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a nitride semiconductor-based optical integrated circuit.
2 is a schematic plan view showing another example of the optical integrated circuit.
3 is a sectional view showing an example of a laser diode (LD) constituting a light emitting portion.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a light emitting diode (LED) constituting a light emitting portion.
5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a photodiode PD constituting a light receiving portion.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the photodiode PD constituting the light receiving portion.
7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an optical waveguide constituting a transfer portion.
8 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of an optical waveguide constituting a transfer portion.
9 to 15 are cross-sectional views illustrating examples of a manufacturing method of forming a semiconductor structure of an integrated optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor through a selective growth and regrowth method,
9 to 11 are sectional views showing an example in which the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion have the same semiconductor structure.
12 to 15 are sectional views showing an example in which the light receiving unit and the transmitting unit have the same semiconductor structure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Rather, the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but rather, the invention includes all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that are consistent with the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

It will be appreciated that when an element such as a layer, region or substrate is referred to as being present on another element "on," it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element in between .

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or regions, such elements, components, regions, layers and / And should not be limited by these terms.

1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a nitride semiconductor-based optical integrated circuit. 1 shows an optical sensor 100 using a ring resonator 110 as an example of an optical integrated circuit.

The optical sensor 100 of one embodiment of the present invention includes a semiconductor structure of a nitride semiconductor substrate implemented on the same substrate 140 (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical sensor 100 is provided on the same substrate 140 and includes a light emitting portion 101 including a nitride semiconductor and a light receiving portion 102. And a transfer unit 103 connected to the light emitting unit 101 and the light receiving unit 102 and including a nitride semiconductor.

The nitride semiconductor structure constituting the light emitting portion 101, the light receiving portion 102, and the transfer portion 103 may have the same thin film structure at least in part. For example, the light emitting portion 101 and the light receiving portion 102 may have the same semiconductor structure, and in some cases, the light receiving portion 102 and the transfer portion 103 may have the same semiconductor structure at least in part. Such a semiconductor structure will be described later in detail.

As an example, the light emitting portion 101 may be implemented by a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode (LD).

1, an example in which the light emitting unit 101 is composed of an LD and an SOA (Semiconductor Optical Amplifier) 200 is shown.

In this LD and optical amplifier 200 shown in Fig. 1, a first electrode (e.g., n-type electrode) 210 may represent an electrode of an optical amplifier, and a second electrode (e.g., p- Type electrode 220 may represent an electrode of the LD. However, the light emitting portion 101 is not limited to this shape. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the light emitting unit 101 is composed of one LD 200 for the sake of convenience.

The light emitting portion 101 may be formed in a predetermined region on the substrate 140 shown in FIG.

The light receiving unit 102 is disposed on the substrate 140 on the other side of the light emitting unit 101. As an example thereof, a photo diode (PD) 300 may be used. 1, PD 300 may include a first electrode (e.g., n-type electrode) 310 and a second electrode (e.g., p-type electrode) 320.

The transmitting unit 103 connecting the light emitting unit 101 and the light receiving unit 102 may be implemented by an optical waveguide 401 as an example. The sensor unit 400 including the ring resonator 110 may further be provided.

5 to 8) of the optical waveguide 401 and may include a ring resonator 110. The ring resonator 110 may include a ring resonator 110, In some areas, opening 120 may be formed for signal sensing by removing such dielectric cover 130.

The light emitted from the LD 200 of the light emitting unit 101 may be incident on the optical waveguide 401 constituting the transfer unit 103. This optical waveguide 401 may be a single mode waveguide. If a multi-mode waveguide is used, it is advantageous to make a single mode through a mode adapter (not shown).

The light incident on the optical waveguide 401 is filtered by the resonance wavelength of the ring resonator 110 and is incident on the PD 300 of the light receiving unit 102.

The sensor unit 400 can change the refractive index of the dielectric sheath 130 by dropping liquid or forming a reactor capable of reacting with the gas.

Accordingly, the optical waveguide 401 having the refractive index of the dielectric lid 130 changed, the effective refractive index of the waveguide mode is changed, so that the resonant wavelength of the ring resonator 110 is shifted to serve as a sensor.

2 shows an optical sensor 100 using a plurality of ring resonators 110 as another example of the optical integrated circuit.

In this way, when two or more ring resonators 110 are used, the resonance wavelength of each ring resonator 110 can be made different, and the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensor 100 can be improved, .

At this time, the light can be divided by using the optical power divider 180 using multi-mode interference (MMI) in order to inject light of uniform intensity into the plurality of ring resonators 110.

2 shows an example in which the light emitting unit 101 is composed of one LD 201 and the light receiving unit 102 is composed of a plurality of PDs 301. [ Here, the number of the PDs 301 may be the same as the number of the ring resonators 110.

At this time, the optical power divider 180 and the plurality of PDs 301 may be connected to each other by a conductor.

The same elements as those of the example of Fig. 1 can be applied to the parts other than those described above.

Such a nitride semiconductor material-based optical integrated circuit integrates active elements such as LDs, LEDs, and PDs using light in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength ranges, and optical passive-based functional passive elements, Since it can be realized through an integrated process without optical alignment, the process difficulty and coupling loss can be minimized.

In addition, since the substrate cost and process cost are lower than those of optical integrated circuits based on semiconductor materials such as InP or GaAs, they are advantageous for mass production and diffusion of optical integrated circuits and sensors.

3 shows an example of a laser diode (LD) constituting a light emitting portion.

The LD 201 constituting the light emitting portion 101 may include a semiconductor structure 150 formed on the substrate 140 as shown in FIG.

The substrate 140 can be formed using a heterogeneous substrate such as sapphire, silicon, or silicon carbide (SiC) as the growth substrate 140. On the substrate 140, a semiconductor structure 150 including a nitride semiconductor may be formed.

That is, on the substrate 140, a semiconductor layer including the buffer layer 151, the first conductive semiconductor layers 152, 153, and 154, the active layer 155, and the second conductive semiconductor layers 156, 157, Structure 150 may be located.

For example, the first conductive semiconductor layer 152, 153, 154 may be an n-type nitride semiconductor layer, and the second conductive semiconductor layer 156, 157, 158 may be a p-type nitride semiconductor layer.

At least one of the first conductive semiconductor layer 152, 153, 154 and the second conductive semiconductor layer 156, 157, 158 may include a first gallium nitride (GaN) layer, an aluminum gallium nitride AlGaN) layer and a second gallium nitride (GaN) layer.

That is, the first conductive semiconductor layers 152, 153, and 154 may include a first n-GaN layer 152, an n-AlGaN layer 153, and a second n-GaN layer 154. The second conductive semiconductor layers 156, 157 and 158 may include a first p-GaN layer 156, a p-AlGaN layer 157, and a second p-GaN layer 158.

The semiconductor structure 150 may have a mesa structure in which one surface of the first n-GaN layer 152 is exposed. That is, the AlGaN layers 153 and 157 having the structure shown in FIG. 3 and mixed with aluminum (Al) may be used as the cladding layer in order to oscillate the light propagation mode in the upper and lower portions of the active layer 155, .

A first electrode (for example, an n-type electrode) 210 may be formed on the exposed surface of the first n-GaN layer 152 and a second electrode A p-type electrode 220 may be provided.

The active layer 155 may include multiple quantum wells (MQWs) in which indium (In) or aluminum (Al) is mixed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a light emitting diode (LED) constituting a light emitting portion.

The LED 200 forming the light emitting unit 101 may have a semiconductor structure 150a that is simpler than the LD 201, as shown in the figure.

That is, the semiconductor structure 150a of the LED 200 includes a buffer layer 151, a first conductive semiconductor layer 152, an active layer 155, and a second conductive semiconductor layer 158 in this order on a substrate 140 A semiconductor structure 150a may be provided.

As an example, the first conductive semiconductor layer 152 may include an n-GaN layer 152 and the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 may include a p-GaN layer 158.

The same elements as those described above with reference to the example of Fig.

5 shows an example of a photodiode PD constituting a light receiving unit.

As described above, the PD 300 based on the optical waveguide can be used as the light receiving unit 102.

The PD 300 constituting the light receiving unit 102 may include a semiconductor structure 150b formed on the substrate 140 as shown in FIG.

The substrate 140 can be formed using a heterogeneous substrate such as sapphire, silicon, or silicon carbide (SiC) as the growth substrate 140. The substrate 140 may be the same substrate 140 as the substrate 140 on which the light emitting unit 101 is implemented.

On the substrate 140, a semiconductor structure 150b constituting the PD 300 including the nitride semiconductor may be formed.

Such a semiconductor structure 150b includes a buffer layer 151, a first conductive semiconductor layer 152, an intentionally undoped undoped semiconductor layer 159 and a second conductive semiconductor layer 158 ) Can be located.

As an example, the first conductive semiconductor layer 152 may include an n-GaN layer, and the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 may include a p-GaN layer. In addition, the undoped semiconductor layer 159 may include an un-GaN layer.

The semiconductor structure 150b may be etched to expose the first conductive semiconductor layer 152 to achieve the structure shown in FIG. The first electrode 310 may be positioned on the exposed surface of the first conductive semiconductor layer 152.

In addition, the clad layer 160 including a dielectric may be located on both sides of the etched portion, that is, the portion where the first conductive semiconductor layer 152 is exposed.

Meanwhile, the second electrode 320 may be disposed on the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 and the clad layer 160.

The semiconductor structure 150b may be formed of the same semiconductor layer as the semiconductor structures 150 and 150a forming the light emitting portion 101. [ For example, semiconductor layers having the same reference numerals may be semiconductor layers formed of the same material and in the same order.

6 shows another example of the photodiode PD constituting the light receiving portion.

In the example shown in Fig. 6, the semiconductor structure 150c in which the active layer 155 is provided between the undoped semiconductor layers 159 is shown.

The active layer 155 may include a multiple quantum wells (MQWs) layer in which indium (In) or aluminum (Al) is mixed, such as the semiconductor structures 150 and 150b constituting the light emitting portion 101 .

The same elements as those described above with reference to the example of Fig.

Fig. 7 shows an example of an optical waveguide constituting a transfer section.

As described above, the optical waveguide 401 constituting the transfer section 103 includes the semiconductor structure 150d as shown in FIG. 3 formed on the substrate 140 as the Rib-type optical waveguide 401 can do. The optical waveguide 401 may be a part of the sensor unit 400 described with reference to FIG.

As described above, the substrate 140 can use a heterogeneous substrate such as sapphire, silicon (Si), or silicon carbide (SiC) as the growth substrate 140. The substrate 140 may be the same substrate 140 as the substrate 140 on which the light emitting unit 101 and / or the light receiving unit 102 is implemented.

On the substrate 140, a semiconductor structure 150d constituting an optical waveguide 401 including a nitride semiconductor is formed.

Such a semiconductor structure 150d includes a buffer layer 151, a first conductive semiconductor layer 152, an intentionally undoped undoped semiconductor layer 159 and a second conductive semiconductor layer 158 ) Can be located.

As an example, the first conductive semiconductor layer 152 may include an n-GaN layer, and the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 may include a p-GaN layer. In addition, the undoped semiconductor layer 159 may include an un-GaN layer.

In this way, the transfer unit 103 can be composed of various functional passive elements based on the optical waveguide 401. Light of ultraviolet and visible light related to nitride semiconductor based device is larger than light of near infrared wavelength which is optical communication band due to absorption of material and roughness of surface of optical waveguide.

Therefore, the structure of the transfer part 103 is a structure in which the undoped semiconductor layer 159 (e.g., an un-GaN layer) having a low absorption is used as the core layer and the structure of the optical waveguide 401 is a lid (Rib-type). This is because control of the waveguide mode is advantageous and transmission loss can be minimized.

The semiconductor structure 150b may be etched to form the optical waveguide 401 to achieve the structure shown in FIG. That is, at least a part of the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 and the undoped semiconductor layer 159 may be etched to form the optical waveguide 401.

In addition, a clad layer 160 including air or a dielectric may be disposed on both sides of the etched portion, that is, at least a portion of the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 and the undoped semiconductor layer 159.

The semiconductor structure 150d may be formed of the same semiconductor layer as the semiconductor structures 150 and 150a forming the light emitting portion 101 and / or the semiconductor structures 150b and 150c forming the light receiving portion 102. [ For example, semiconductor layers having the same reference numerals may be semiconductor layers formed of the same material and in the same order.

Fig. 8 shows another example of the optical waveguide constituting the transfer part.

8, both surfaces of the first conductive semiconductor layer 152, the undoped semiconductor layer 159, and the second conductive semiconductor layer 158 are etched to form the optical waveguide 401 And a semiconductor structure 150e as shown in FIG.

In order to form the optical waveguide 401 region, air or a clad layer 160 including a dielectric material may be disposed on both sides of the exposed semiconductor layer.

The same elements as those described above with reference to the example of Fig.

The structure of the optical waveguide-based PD 300 described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 can be largely divided into three structures.

One of them has the same structure as the semiconductor structures 150d and 150e of the transfer section 103 as shown in Fig.

This is advantageous in that the number of regrowth through the selective area growth method can be limited to one and the coupling loss with the optical waveguide 401 of the transmission part 103 can be minimized.

However, since the absorption rate of the u-GaN layer 159 to be used as the optical waveguide 401 of the transfer section 103 may be small, there is a possibility that the performance of the PD 300 may be somewhat deteriorated.

The second case is that the semiconductor structure of the PD 300 has the same structure as the semiconductor structure 150 or 150a of the LD or the LED (not shown) constituting the light emitting portion 101.

However, since the active layer 155 has the same structure as the LD or the LED, the performance of the PD 300 deteriorates. In addition, the number of re-growth can be reduced by the selective growth method, It is possible.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, the non-doped semiconductor layer 159 is composed of an independent semiconductor structure 150c including an absorption layer (active layer) 155 made of a material such as InGaN.

This has the advantage of improving the performance and wavelength selectivity of the PD 300, but the number of regrowth through selective growth can be increased.

Therefore, the semiconductor structure of the PD 300 can be selected and configured to be suitable for the design situation.

As described above, the integrated optical integrated circuit based on nitride semiconductor according to the present invention comprises a light emitting portion 101 composed of LD or LED, a light receiving portion 102 composed of PD, and a functional passive element based on optical waveguide And a transfer unit 103 for transferring the image data.

Also, at least a part of the light emitting unit 101, the light receiving unit 102, and the transfer unit 103 can be realized through the same semiconductor process at least in part with the same nitride semiconductor-based substrate 140.

For this purpose, it is the simplest implementation method that the light emitting portion 101, the light receiving portion 102, and the transfer portion 103 all have the same semiconductor structure.

However, since the absorption of light in the active layer region of the light emitting portion 101 and the light receiving portion 102 is large, if it is used as an optical waveguide, a large transmission loss can be caused.

Therefore, two or three different semiconductor structures can be used, and the light emitting portion 101, the light receiving portion 102, and the light receiving portion 102 are formed on the same substrate 140 using the additional photolithography and etching process and the selective region growing method. And a transmission unit 103 can be implemented.

FIGS. 9 to 15 show examples of a manufacturing method of forming a semiconductor structure of an integrated optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor through the selective growth and regrowth method.

9 to 11 show examples in which the light emitting portion 101 and the light receiving portion 102 have the same semiconductor structure.

The buffer layer 151, the first conductive semiconductor layers 152, 153 and 154, the active layer 155 and the second conductive semiconductor layers 156 and 157 and 158 are formed on the substrate 140 as shown in FIG. To form a semiconductor structure 150 (first semiconductor structure).

The semiconductor structure 150 may be formed using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).

Here, the first conductive semiconductor layer 152, 153, 154 may include a first n-GaN layer 152, an n-AlGaN layer 153, and a second n-GaN layer 154. The second conductive semiconductor layers 156, 157 and 158 may include a first p-GaN layer 156, a p-AlGaN layer 157, and a second p-GaN layer 158. Hereinafter, an example in which the semiconductor structure 150 has such a laminated structure will be described.

As described above, the semiconductor structure 150 may be a semiconductor structure in which the light emitting portion 101 and the light receiving portion 102 are the same.

That is, it has the same semiconductor structure as that of the LD 201 explained with reference to FIG. However, it may be a semiconductor structure different from the example of the PD 300 described with reference to FIGS. Thus, the light receiving portion 102 also has the semiconductor structure 150 as shown in FIG.

Next, a mask layer 170 is formed on the semiconductor structure 150 in the region A except for the region B where the transfer portion 103 is to be formed. The light emitting portion 101 and the light receiving portion 102 may be located in at least a part of the region A. [

The mask layer 170 may include silicon nitride (Si _x N _y ) or silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) formed through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or the like.

10, an opening region 171 is formed by etching the region B where the transfer section 103 is to be formed, by using the mask layer 170 as a mask, (150f, second semiconductor structure). At this time, the etching can be performed by a dry etching method. In addition, the semiconductor layer including the active layer 155 may be removed during the etching process.

That is, the intermediate semiconductor structure 150f has a structure in which a portion of the buffer layer 151, the first n-GaN layer 152, and the n-AlGaN layer 153 are sequentially disposed on the substrate 140 .

Next, a non-doped semiconductor layer (for example, un-GaN) 159 is formed on the semiconductor structure 150f, that is, on the n-AlGaN layer 153 to form the optical waveguide 401 of the transfer section 103, (150g, third semiconductor structure) can be formed.

Description of the subsequent steps of forming electrodes and the like is omitted.

Meanwhile, a process of forming the dielectric cover of the polymer material substrate on at least a part of the first semiconductor structure 150 and the third semiconductor structure 150g may be performed.

12 to 15 show an example in which the light receiving section 102 and the transfer section 103 have the same semiconductor structure.

A semiconductor structure including a buffer layer 151, first conductive semiconductor layers 152, 153 and 154, an active layer 155 and a second conductive semiconductor layer 156 is formed on a substrate 140, (150h, first semiconductor structure). The semiconductor structure 150h may be formed using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD).

Here, the first conductive semiconductor layer 152, 153, 154 may include a first n-GaN layer 152, an n-AlGaN layer 153, and a second n-GaN layer 154. In addition, the second conductive semiconductor layer 156 may include a first p-GaN layer 156. Hereinafter, an example in which the semiconductor structure 150h has such a laminated structure will be described.

Next, a mask layer 173 is formed in the region C excluding the region D where the transfer portion 103 is to be formed on the semiconductor structure 150h. The light emitting portion 101 and the light receiving portion 102 may be located in at least a part of the region C.

The mask layer 173 may include silicon nitride (Si _x N _y ) or silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) formed through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or the like.

13, an opening region 172 is formed by etching the region D in which the transfer section 103 is to be formed, by using the mask layer 173 as a mask, (150f, second semiconductor structure). At this time, the etching can be performed by a dry etching method. In addition, the semiconductor layer including the active layer 155 may be removed during the etching process.

That is, the intermediate semiconductor structure 150f has a structure in which a portion of the buffer layer 151, the first n-GaN layer 152, and the n-AlGaN layer 153 are sequentially disposed on the substrate 140 .

14, a non-doped semiconductor layer (for example, un-GaN) 159 is formed on the semiconductor structure 150f, that is, on the n-AlGaN layer 153, The semiconductor structure 150g (the third semiconductor structure) constituting the optical waveguide 400 of FIG.

Then, a part of the second conductive semiconductor layer is secondarily grown in a region including a part of the area C and the area D. The second semiconductor layer may include, for example, a p-AlGaN layer 157 and a second p-GaN layer 158.

As shown in Fig. 15, the light emitting portion 101 can be formed in the state of being secondarily grown in the region C. In addition, the semiconductor structure 150k formed in this region can be used as the light-receiving unit 102, since secondary growth is selectively performed only in a region for constituting the light-receiving unit 102 in the area D.

In this process, the transfer section 103 and the light receiving section 102 may have a semiconductor structure 150g common to at least a part thereof.

Description of the subsequent steps of forming electrodes and the like is omitted.

Meanwhile, a process of forming the dielectric cover of the polymer material substrate on at least a part of the first semiconductor structure 150 and the third semiconductor structure 150g may be performed.

It is needless to say that the light emitting unit 101, the light receiving unit 102, and the transfer unit 103 having the semiconductor structure described above can be directly applied to the optical integrated circuit described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

Such an optical integrated circuit having a semiconductor structure based on a nitride semiconductor material can form an optimal process for an active element such as an LD, an LED and a PD, and an optical waveguide-based functional passive element using light in a wavelength region of ultraviolet and visible light .

In addition, since it can be realized through a single process without separate optical alignment for individual elements, the process difficulty and coupling loss can be minimized.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the present specification and drawings are only illustrative of specific examples for the purpose of understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

100: optical sensor 101:
102: light receiving unit 103:
110: ring resonator 120: opening
130: dielectric cover 140: substrate
150: semiconductor structure 200, 201: LD (LED)
300: PD 400:
401: optical waveguide

Claims (15)

In a nitride semiconductor-based optical integrated circuit implemented on the same substrate,
Board;
A light emitting portion provided on one side of the substrate and including a nitride semiconductor;
A light receiving portion provided on the other side of the substrate and including a nitride semiconductor; And
And a transmitter including a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion connected to the substrate and including a nitride semiconductor. The optical integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion have the same nitride semiconductor thin film structure. The light-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the light-
A buffer layer located on the substrate;
A first conductive semiconductor layer located on the buffer layer;
An active layer located on the first conductive semiconductor layer; And
And a second conductive semiconductor layer located on the active layer. The semiconductor light emitting device of claim 3, wherein the first conductive semiconductor layer or the second conductive semiconductor layer comprises:
A first GaN layer;
An AlGaN layer located on the first GaN layer; And
And a second GaN layer located on the AlGaN layer. The optical integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving unit and the transmitting unit have the same nitride semiconductor thin film structure at least in part. The optical integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit further comprises a sensor unit including a ring resonator. 7. The optical integrated circuit of claim 6, wherein the optical integrated circuit further comprises a dielectric cover of a polymeric material substrate, the dielectric cover including an opening exposing at least a portion of the sensor portion. . The optical integrated circuit according to claim 6, wherein the ring resonator is provided in plurality. The optical integrated circuit according to claim 8, further comprising an optical power divider coupled with the plurality of ring resonators. A method of manufacturing an optical integrated circuit based on a nitride semiconductor implemented on the same substrate,
A first semiconductor structure including a first conductive semiconductor layer formed of a nitride semiconductor on a substrate and positioned on the substrate, an active layer located on the first conductive semiconductor layer, and a second conductive semiconductor layer located on the active layer, ;
Removing at least a portion of the first semiconductor structure on the first region to form a second semiconductor structure; And
And forming a third semiconductor structure by growing an undoped nitride semiconductor layer on the second semiconductor structure. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 31. < / RTI > 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first semiconductor structure is used as a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and the first region is a transfer portion. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising growing a conductive semiconductor layer on the undoped nitride semiconductor layer of the third semiconductor structure. The method of claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the first conductive semiconductor layer or the second conductive semiconductor layer
A first GaN layer;
An AlGaN layer located on the first GaN layer; And
And a second GaN layer located on the AlGaN layer. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 19 > 11. The method of claim 10, wherein removing at least a portion of the first semiconductor structure to form a second semiconductor structure includes removing at least the active layer. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising forming a dielectric lid of a polymeric material substrate on at least a portion of the first semiconductor structure and the third semiconductor structure.

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