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]
  • H01S5/18361—Structure of the reflectors, e.g. hybrid mirrors
  • H01S5/18369—Structure of the reflectors, e.g. hybrid mirrors based on dielectric materials
• • 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
  • H01S5/04—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping, e.g. by electron beams
  • H01S5/042—Electrical excitation ; Circuits therefor
  • H01S5/0425—Electrodes, e.g. characterised by the structure
  • H01S5/04252—Electrodes, e.g. characterised by the structure characterised by the material
• • 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
  • H01S5/02—Structural details or components not essential to laser action
  • H01S5/0206—Substrates, e.g. growth, shape, material, removal or bonding
  • H01S5/0217—Removal of the substrate
• • 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
  • H01S5/02—Structural details or components not essential to laser action
  • H01S5/024—Arrangements for thermal management
  • H01S5/02476—Heat spreaders, i.e. improving heat flow between laser chip and heat dissipating elements
• • 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
  • H01S5/04—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping, e.g. by electron beams
  • H01S5/042—Electrical excitation ; Circuits therefor
  • H01S5/0421—Electrical excitation ; Circuits therefor characterised by the semiconducting contacting 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
  • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
  • H01S5/04—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping, e.g. by electron beams
  • H01S5/042—Electrical excitation ; Circuits therefor
  • H01S5/0425—Electrodes, e.g. characterised by the structure
  • H01S5/04252—Electrodes, e.g. characterised by the structure characterised by the material
  • H01S5/04253—Electrodes, e.g. characterised by the structure characterised by the material having specific optical properties, e.g. transparent electrodes
• • 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
• • 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]
  • H01S5/18361—Structure of the reflectors, e.g. hybrid mirrors
  • H01S5/18375—Structure of the reflectors, e.g. hybrid mirrors based on metal reflectors
• • 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]
  • H01S5/18361—Structure of the reflectors, e.g. hybrid mirrors
  • H01S5/18377—Structure of the reflectors, e.g. hybrid mirrors comprising layers of different kind of materials, e.g. combinations of semiconducting with dielectric or metallic 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
  • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
  • H01S5/30—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region
  • H01S5/305—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region characterised by the doping materials used in the laser structure
  • H01S5/3072—Diffusion blocking layer, i.e. a special layer blocking diffusion of dopants
• • 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
  • H01S5/30—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region
  • H01S5/305—Structure or shape of the active region; Materials used for the active region characterised by the doping materials used in the laser structure
  • H01S5/3095—Tunnel junction

Definitions

• the invention relates to a semiconductor laser of the surface emitting type with an active zone having a pn junction.
• semiconductor lasers represent a semiconductor diode operated in the direction of flow, which generates coherent, spectrally narrow-band light by means of stimulated emission and emits it in a directed manner.
• the population inversion required for the laser process is achieved by a current injection into the pn junction.
• a high doping of the starting material can be provided as a supporting measure.
• the induced radiative recombination then takes place in the region of the pn junction, in which the electrons and holes are spatially adjacent.
• the optical resonator is formed from two opposite optical mirrors which are perpendicular to the pn junction. In this design, there is an emission in the plane perpendicular to the current injection.
• surface-emitting semiconductor laser diodes in which one Emission perpendicular to the plane of the active zone takes place (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diode, VCSEL).
• a semiconductor laser of the surface emitting type in which a full-area tunnel contact is used to create a conductive transition between the p-side of the active zone and an n-doped semiconductor layer.
• n-doped semiconductor layers are also possible on the p-side of the active zone, which results in 10-30 times lower electrical series resistances due to the better electrical conductivity of n-doped semiconductors.
• a disadvantage of the full-surface tunnel contact is that additional oxide layers must be provided for the targeted current supply, which overall lead to a complex and thermally unfavorable construction of the semiconductor laser.
• US Pat. No. 6,052,398 discloses a semiconductor laser of the surface emitting type which has a structured tunnel contact, the resonator being formed by two semiconductor mirrors. The problem here is that the heat must be removed via one of the mirrors, which usually consist of ternary or quaternary mixed crystals with correspondingly poor thermal conductivity.
• US Pat. No. 6,052,398 also mentions the use of a dielectric mirror on the p-side of the active zone, without particular advantages being mentioned for this alternative solution. In practice, this solution is also not used because reflective contact layers (usually gold or silver) can diffuse into the adjacent semiconductor layers, so that long-term stability is not guaranteed.
• the object of the invention is to provide a semiconductor laser that can be operated under normal ambient temperatures and has a stable long-term behavior.
• the features according to the invention comprise a semiconductor laser of the surface emitting type, with an active zone having a pn junction, with a first n-doped semiconductor layer on the n side of the active zone, with a structured tunnel contact on the p side of the active zone , which forms a conductive transition to a second n-doped semiconductor layer on the p-side of the active zone, with a structured dielectric mirror which is applied to the second n-doped semiconductor layer, with a contact layer which makes contact with the second n -doped semiconductor layer forms where the dielectric mirror is not applied, and with a diffusion layer between the contact layer and the second n-doped semiconductor layer.
• the solution according to the invention is based on the knowledge that on the p-side of the active zone the n-doped semiconductor layer located there with both a dielectric mirror and a diffusion camera a contact layer is completed.
• the contact layer forms a heat sink and thus enables effective heat dissipation.
• Gold or silver are particularly suitable for forming a good heat sink.
• the diffusion barrier therefore, together with the dielectric mirror, prevents components from diffusing from the contact layer into the second n-doped semiconductor layer and, in the worst case, getting into the active zone and suppressing the radiative recombination there. This means that there is a free hand in the choice of materials for the heat sink, so that overall a thermally optimized structure of a semiconductor laser can be realized.
• a method according to the invention for applying a diffusion barrier consists of the features of claim 16, in which the diffusion barrier is applied in a first region to the second n-doped semiconductor layer, in which a dielectric mirror is applied in a second region to the second n-doped semiconductor layer and in which the contact layer is applied at least over the diffusion barrier.
• the semiconductor laser according to the invention has the following advantages:
• the remaining semiconductor layers on the p-side of the active zone can be n-doped. This results from the significantly better electrical conductivity of n-doped semiconductors approx. 10-30 times lower electrical series resistances.
• the first n-doped semiconductor layer on the n side of the active zone serves as a charge carrier confinement layer.
• a highly reflective dielectric mirror is used on the p-side.
• a metallic finishing layer can be provided to increase the reflectivity.
• the heat is dissipated via the p-side, i.e. H. essentially through the tunnel contact and the dielectric mirror, which can have a low thermal resistance.
• a thermally highly conductive layer (e.g. a binary InP layer) can be used between the active region and the dielectric mirror to expand and dissipate the heat.
• the metal layer can simultaneously serve as mechanical stabilization, which is particularly advantageous when the substrate on the n side is completely removed, for example in order to obtain an increased jump in refractive index between the epitaxial mirror and air.
• the light is preferably decoupled via the n side (based on the active layer), so that the partially absorbing tunnel contact is located on the side opposite to the light decoupling, as a result of which higher light outputs can be achieved.
• the binary layers can alternately consist of InAs and GaAs with layer thicknesses of 3 nm each, so that the mean lattice spacing of the binary layers corresponds to the adjacent semiconductor layer.
• This solution can be implemented alone or in combination with the solution described above according to claims 1 and 16.
• an adhesion promoter is provided between the diffusion barrier and the second semiconductor layer.
• the adhesion promoter preferably consists of a titanium layer and the diffusion barrier consists of a platinum layer.
• a metallic finishing layer can be provided between the dielectric mirror and the contact layer in order to increase the reflectivity.
• the metallic final layer can also be provided between the diffusion barrier and the contact layer.
• Gold is suitable for the metallic finishing layer and gold or silver for the contact layer.
• the dielectric mirror consists for example of several dielectric ⁇ / 4-layer pairs, preferably formed from materials with a large refractive index difference, such as MgF 2 and Si. It is particularly advantageous if the dielectric mirror has a lower thermal resistance than the semiconductor materials, since this results in directional heat conduction.
• the second n-doped semiconductor layer can consist, for example, of an InP semiconductor.
• the contact layer is applied so thickly that it acts as a heat sink.
• the contact layer is preferably applied over the entire surface and also covers the dielectric mirror.
• the thickness of the contact layer can be, for example, 10 ⁇ m.
• the light is decoupled on the n side of the active zone.
• the substrate on the n side of the active zone is preferably removed.
• 5 shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention
• 6 shows three process steps for the production of a diffusion barrier according to a first embodiment
• Fig. 7 three process steps for the production of a
• the current is supplied via the lower p-contact (25), which also functions as an integrated heat sink, and the n-contacts (10), which can optionally be applied to a highly doped contact layer (11).
• the light is emitted upwards (50), while the heat via the integrated heat sink (25) downwards (60) z.
• B. is discharged onto a copper housing.
• the laser-active region (26) is located within the active layer (22), which preferably consists of a strained multilayer structure (English: multiquantum well: MQW structure).
• the lateral dimensions of the laser-active region are determined by the current flow through the layer consisting of a highly p-doped layer (40) and a highly n-doped layer (41). B.
• the mirror (20) epitaxially produced according to the prior art which consists, for example, of many (eg 36) ⁇ / 4 pairs of two semiconductor materials (20a) and (20b) with different refractive indices.
• the lower mirror (30) consists of some (eg 1.5 or 2.5) pairs of ⁇ / 4 dielectric pairs (30a) and (30b), such as. B. MgF 2 (30a) and Si (30b). Seme reflectivity is additionally increased by the reflection at the lower interface to the integrated heat sink (25), in particular if this consists of highly reflective metals such as gold or silver.
• the tunnel contact In the vertical direction, the tunnel contact is placed in a minimum of the electromagnetic field, so that no or negligible optical losses occur in the highly doped and absorbing layers (41) and (42). For the same reason, the tunnel contact should be as thin as possible; Favorable values for the total thickness D are 20 to 60 nm for 1.3-1.55 ⁇ m VCSEL.
• the second p-side semiconductor layer (24) can be n-doped due to the tunnel contact (high) or a gradient in the n-doping with lower doping at the boundary to the layer (23) and higher doping at the Have underside to the mirror (30) and the integrated heat sink (25).
• the layer (24) should preferably have good thermal conductivity in order to improve and expand the heat flow from the active region (for example to a multiple of the diameter S), which gives the advantage of reduced overall heating.
• the lateral dimension S of the dielectric mirror is preferably chosen to be at least as large as the lateral dimension W of the tunnel contact. It is particularly advantageous to choose the dimension S by approx. 3-8 ⁇ m larger than W (typically 2-20 ⁇ m at 1.3 ⁇ m and 1.55 ⁇ m VCSELn), because the lateral expansion of the optical field due to the wave guidance due to the amplification and the thermal lensing of the laser-active region (26) is limited to the dimension of the laser-active region.
• the manufacturing process is designed in such a way that the structure of the tunnel contact is reflected in the layer surface of the layer (24) during epitaxial growth. In this way, a reinforced lateral shaft guide is created, which is self-aligning exactly to the tunnel contact and the active area (26) is aligned.
• the mapping of the tunnel contact can be widened or reduced, which means that the lateral limitation of the optical field can be influenced within wide limits. In principle, this method can be combined with the structure variants described below to optimize the laser properties.
• FIG 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of the invention. It is clearly emphasized here how, by applying an additional highly reflective metallic layer (30c) to the dielectric mirror (30), a high reflectivity can be achieved, which in this embodiment does not depend on the properties of the integrated heat sink and contact layer (25).
• Fig. 4 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• the p-side contact resistance to the contact layer (25) can be reduced by laterally inserting a highly n-doped intermediate contact layer (70).
• the layer (24) can consist of thermally highly conductive n-doped InP and the intermediate contact layer (70) can consist of highly n-doped InGaAs, which results in very low contact resistances.
• Fig. 5 shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention, in which both a low-resistance contact by means of the intermediate contact layer (70) and good heat dissipation through the window (71) is made possible , between the dielectric mirror (30) and the Intermediate contact layer (70) is created a space through which the heat can flow away.
• the lateral width of the region (71) is therefore preferably greater than the thickness of the layer (24).
• FIG. 6 shows three process steps for the production of a diffusion camera according to a first embodiment.
• a diffusion camera 601 is applied in a first area, while a second area 602 is masked.
• the diffusion camera can consist of platinum (Pt), for example.
• Pt platinum
• a titanium layer can be applied under the platinum layer.
• a gold layer can be applied to the platinum layer.
• the diffusion camera then consists of the layer sequence Ti / Pt / Au.
• a dielectric mirror 603 is applied in the second region 602.
• Places 605, 606 can be allowed a certain overlap with the diffusion camera 601.
• This overlap has the advantage that a tight seal between the dielectric mirror and the diffusion camera can be ensured, so that a possible diffusion from the contact layer into the n-doped semiconductor layer can be reliably excluded.
• a gold layer 604 is applied to the dielectric mirror 603.
• 7 shows three process steps for the production of a diffusion barrier according to a second embodiment.
• the main difference to the process steps acc. 6 is that in a first process step (a) a dielectric mirror is first applied, while in a second process step (b) the diffusion barrier 702 is then applied, which in turn consists of the layer sequence Ti / Pt / Au already mentioned above can exist.
• gold layer 703 is then applied again to the dielectric mirror.
• the masking must be adjusted precisely so that diffusion between the dielectric mirror into the n-doped semiconductor layer underneath is still prevented.
• Table 1 Typical data for a semiconductor diode according to the invention with a wavelength of 1.55 ⁇ m.
• ⁇ g means the wavelength corresponding to the bandgap.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Semiconductor Lasers (AREA)

Priority Applications (9)

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• 2001
  • 2001-02-15 DE DE10107349A patent/DE10107349A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2002
  • 2002-02-15 WO PCT/EP2002/001656 patent/WO2002065599A2/de not_active Ceased
  • 2002-02-15 US US10/468,183 patent/US7170917B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-02-15 DE DE50202912T patent/DE50202912D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-02-15 IL IL15736202A patent/IL157362A0/xx unknown
  • 2002-02-15 CN CNB028050193A patent/CN1263207C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-02-15 EP EP02719854A patent/EP1366548B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-02-15 JP JP2002564807A patent/JP2004535058A/ja active Pending
  • 2002-02-15 CA CA002438341A patent/CA2438341A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-02-15 KR KR1020037010705A patent/KR100626891B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-02-15 DK DK02719854T patent/DK1366548T3/da active
  • 2002-02-15 ES ES02719854T patent/ES2240725T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-02-15 AT AT02719854T patent/ATE294457T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation

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