VERTICALLY INTEGRATED HIGH POWER SURFACE EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR LASER DEVICE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE
SAME
Technical Field
The present invention relates, in general, to a vertical cavity high power semiconductor laser device, in particular, a high power surface emitting semiconductor laser device, which not only lases, at higher power, in a single longitudinal mode, a main characteristic of such a vertical cavity surface emitting laser, but also lases in a single transverse mode.
Background Art
A conventional vertical cavity surface emitting laser device (NCSEL) can be seen as being an ideal optical pumping source, not only because it lases in a very narrow spectrum and in a single longitudinal mode, but because the projection angle of its laser beam is small so that the coupling efficiency is significantly raised while the surface-emitting structure makes monolithic integration with other devices easy.
However, with the conventional NCSEL, a single transverse mode lasing is difficult in comparison with an Edge Emitting LD. Also, in order to produce a common single transverse mode lasing, the surface area of the surface emitting region must be smaller than 10 μm, with the output of such NCSEL limited to 5 mW, as any increases in laser output will cause side effects such as thermal lens effect, which will change the single transverse mode into a multiple mode.
A NECSEL (Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) is a device, which is able to realize all of the above-mentioned strengths of the VCSEL while allowing for high power operations (IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol 11 , Issue 12, 1999, 1551-1553).
According to the above article, by replacing an upper mirror of the
VCSEL with an external mirror, a gain area is increased, which results in a single transverse mode and a single longitudinal mode laser output of 40 mW or more, and a laser output of 154 raW is obtained by adopting two or more optical pumping diodes.
However, such a VECSEL structure is defective in that the VECSEL structure is not based on an electric carrier injection-based operation but on optical pumping, and the VECSEL requires an additional external mirror. These defects not only make the overall size of the device too big but also, due to an increase in the number of parts used, increase a unit cost. All these defects make the commercialization of the devices much more difficult.
As a possible solution to the first defect of the VECSEL mentioned above, that is, a disadvantage with optical pumping, a structure whereby power is electrically carrier-injected has been proposed by U. S. Pat. No. 6,243,407. This structure, called an NECSEL (Novalux Extended Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), although quite similar to the VECSEL structure mentioned above, is different from the VECSEL in that an active layer is electrically pumped. However, even with this device, there is still a defect in that the above-mentioned external mirror is still used. In addition, a GalnNAs layer, a Quaternary Alloy that lattice-matches with a GaAs substrate, should be adopted as the active layer in order to apply the laser device to a Raman optical amplifier, a main application of the present invention. However, a light beam with a wavelength longer than 1200 nm will lose its radiance significantly due to a clad layer that has been doped by p-type, resulting in difficulties with the lasing by the carrier inj ection.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a high power surface emitting semiconductor laser device, which is useful as a light source for an optical pumping and a Raman amplifier because a high power laser beam with a wavelength of 1200 to 1500 nm can be emitted and can be lased in a single longitudinal mode as well as a single transverse mode; and
a method of producing the same.
Disclosure of the Invention
The above object of the present invention can be accomplished by a provision of a surface emitting semiconductor laser device, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, having a first emitting structure comprising a lower DBR (Distributed Bragg Reflector), a first upper DBR, and a first active layer positioned between the lower DBR and the first upper DBR, and being positioned on a first side of a GaAs substrate and electrically pumped to emit a beam at a first wavelength; a second emitting structure comprising a lower DBR, an upper DBR, and a second active layer positioned between the lower DBR and the upper DBR, and being positioned on a second side of the GaAs substrate and optically exciting a beam at a second wavelength by the beam at the first wavelength of the first emitting structure; and a pair of electrodes in contact with the lower DBR of the first emitting structure and the second side of the GaAs substrate, respectively, which further comprises an optical lens positioned on the second side of the GaAs substrate between the first emitting structure and the second emitting structure, and a second upper DBR belonging in the first emitting structure between the optical lens and the second emitting structure.
The lower DBR of the first emitting structure is doped to p-type or n-type and has a reflectivity higher than total reflectivity of the first and second upper DBRs, and the lower DBR of the second emitting structure has a reflectivity higher than that of the upper DBR of the second emitting structure.
Further, the beam at the first wavelength is lased in a single longitudinal mode with the use of a coupled cavity comprising the first active layer of the first emitting structure, the GaAs substrate, and the optical lens. The optical lens is formed by partially oxidizing an AlxGaι-xAs layer by means of a lateral wet oxidation process, and a single transverse mode lasing is feasible by use of the optical lens. The AlxGaι-xAs layer has a Al mole fraction which is higher in an upper portion of the optical lens than in a lower portion of the
optical lens.
The second upper DBR of the first emitting structure and the upper and lower DBR of the second emitting structure consist of a semiconductor or an oxide produced by oxidizing the semiconductor. The layers formed on the second side of the GaAs substrate are partially etched perpendicularly to the GaAs substrate so as to have a smaller surface area than the second side of the GaAs substrate and thus partially expose the second side of the GaAs substrate, and the electrodes are positioned on an exposed second side of the GaAs substrate. The second emitting structure further comprises a dielectric DBR additionally positioned on an upper side of the upper DBR of the second emitting structure which serves as a final emitting surface for completely shielding an unabsorbed beam at the first wavelength.
According to the second embodiment of the present invention, provided is a surface emitting semiconductor laser device having a first emitting structure comprising a lower DBR, a first upper DBR, and a first active layer positioned between the lower DBR and the first upper DBR, and being positioned on a first side of a GaAs substrate and electrically pumped to emit a beam at a first wavelength; a second emitting structure comprising a intermediate DBR, an upper DBR, and a second active layer positioned between the intermediate DBR and the upper DBR, and being positioned on a second side of the GaAs substrate and optically exciting a beam at a second wavelength by the beam at the first wavelength of the first emitting structure; and a pair of electrodes in contact with the lower DBR of the first emitting structure and the second side of the GaAs substrate, respectively, which further comprises an optical lens positioned on the second side of the GaAs substrate between the first emitting structure and the second emitting structure. The intermediate DBR of the second emitting structure further acts as a second upper DBR belonging in the first emitting structure. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of producing a surface emitting semiconductor laser device, comprising the steps of (a)
successively forming a first upper DBR and a first active layer doped to a first conductive type, and a lower DBR doped to a second conductive type having an opposite polarity to the first conductive type, on a first side of a GaAs substrate having the first conductive type, to form a first emitting structure emitting a beam at a first wavelength by electrically pumping the resulting structure; (b) forming an
AlxGaι-xAs layer on a second side of the GaAs substrate, in which the AlxGaι-xAs layer has the Al mole fraction which is higher in an upper portion than in a lower portion thereof; (c) forming a second upper DBR belonging in the first emitting structure on the AlxGaι-xAs layer; (d) successively forming a lower DBR, a second active layer, and an upper DBR on the second upper DBR to form a second emitting structure optically exciting a beam at a second wavelength by the beam at the first wavelength; (e) partially etching the layers formed on the second side of the GaAs substrate to expose a surface of the GaAs substrate; (f) oxidizing the AlxGaι-xAs layer by a lateral wet oxidation process to form an optical lens; and (g) forming an electrode having the first conductive type on the surface of the GaAs substrate exposed at the (e) step and forming an electrode having the second conductive in contact with the lower DBR.
The lower DBR, the first upper DBR and the second upper DBR of the first emitting structure, and the lower DBR and the upper DBR of the second emitting structure are formed by alternately layering Al(Ga)As layers and GaAs layers, and the active layers are formed by layering InGaAs(N) layers.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a surface emitting semiconductor laser device according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
Figs. 2a to 2e illustrates a production process of the surface emitting semiconductor laser device of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a surface emitting semiconductor laser device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Reference now should be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components. < First embodiment >
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a surface emitting semiconductor laser device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As in Fig. 1, a high power semiconductor laser device according to the first embodiment of the present invention comprises a first emitting structure, a second emitting structure, a substrate, an optical lens, and one or more pairs of electrodes.
In detail, the first emitting structure comprises a lower DBR 1 and a first active layer 2 (cavity) with respect to a first wavelength, as well as a first upper DBR 3 and a second upper DBR 6 with respect to the first wavelength. The lower DBR 1 and the first upper DBR 3 with respect to the first wavelength are respectively doped to p-type and n-type to each have an electrical conductivity. An n-type GaAs substrate 4 is positioned between the first upper DBR 3 and the second upper DBR 6 with respect to the first wavelength. In addition, an optical lens 13 produced by wet-oxidizing an AlGaAs layer 5, is additionally positioned between the first upper DBR 3 and the second upper DBR 6 with respect to the first wavelength. The second emitting structure comprises a lower DBR 7 and a second active layer 8 (cavity) with respect to a second wavelength, and an upper DBR 9 with respect to the second wavelength. The second emitting structure is positioned on the second upper DBR 6 with respect to the first wavelength. An n-type electrode 10 is positioned on the first side of the n-type GaAs substrate 4, to which the second emitting structure is attached, and a p-type electrode 11 is positioned on the second side of the substrate 4 while being in contact with the lower DBR 1 with respect to the first wavelength.
Specifically, the first active layer 2, positioned at the lower part of the laser device according to the present invention, is electrically pumped to emit a laser beam at the first wavelength. The lower DBR 1 with respect to the first wavelength has a higher reflexibility than the upper DBR, for example the reflexibility of 99.9 %, like a lower DBR of a conventional VCSEL, and is doped to a particular polarity, i.e. p-type so as to be electrically communicated with other elements.
DBRs 1, 3, 6, 7, and 9 as described above are produced by alternately layering GaAs/AlAs or GaAs/AlGaAs layers, and can secure conventionally a desired reflectivity of 20 to 40 pairs of DBRs. Furthemiore, the thickness of
DBR is less than 10 μm. In other words, a conventional DBR comprises low refractivity material layers and high refractivity material layers each having a predetermined thickness (a wavelength of a light beam/(refractivity of a material * 4)) and which are alternately layered. Accordingly, a pair of DBRs is tens of μm in thick while the thickness is varied according to refractivities of the materials and the lasing wavelengths. In other words, DBRs 1, 3, 6, 7, and 9 according to the present invention are under 10 μm in thickness.
Furthermore, the first upper DBR 3 with respect to the first wavelength is positioned on the upper part of the active layer 2. The first upper DBR 3 is designed in such a way that the total reflectivity of the first upper DBR 3 and the second upper DBR 6 is lower than that of the lower DBR 1 , resulting in a beam lased orthogonal to a main surface of an element. A beam at the first wavelength is lased in a single longitudinal mode by a coupled cavity comprising a cavity consisting of the first active layer 2 positioned between the lower DBR 1 and the first upper DBR 3, and another cavity consisting of the GaAs substrate 4 and the optical lens 13 positioned between the first upper DBR 3 and the second upper DBR 6. In other words, when the coupled cavity is formed in the thickness of one lambda (λ, unit wavelength) or several lambdas (unit wavelength), i.e. the same thickness as the lasing wavelength of the active layer/cavity 2 with respect to the first wavelength, the cavity mode may be one to nine. Even though the number of the cavity modes is under 10, a distance between the modes, i.e. the
wavelength, is long. On the other hand, a distance 'd' between the optical lens 13 acting as the cavity and an upper part of the first upper DBR 3 is very long in comparison with the lasing wavelength, and so a great number of cavity modes are densely distributed. However, the lasing in the coupled cavity structure occurs in only a predetermined mode among two cavity modes, and only one cavity mode exists in a grain profile of the active layer, and so single longitudinal mode lasing is feasible.
One to ten pairs or more of the first upper DBRs 3 are each formed in such a way that their thickness is no less than 5 μm so as to show the reflectivity often % or more. At this time, a lasing region is tens to hundreds of μm or more in size 'a' so as to generate the high power. Furthermore, the optical lens 13 is positioned between the first emitting structure and the second emitting structure to lase a beam in a single transverse mode in an element with a large lasing region.
The AlxGa1-xAs layer is grown in such a way that it has an Al mole fraction x that is higher in an upper portion of the optical lens 13 than in a lower portion of the optical lens 13, and the upper portion of the AlxGa1 -xAs layer having the high Al mol fraction x is oxidized by a lateral wet oxidation to shape the upper part of the AlxGaι-xAs layer into a lens. The radius of curvature of the lens coincides with a beam wave front of the lased beam, thereby the single transverse mode lasing is feasible. This optional wet oxidation technology is disclosed in O.
Blum, C. I. H. Ashby, and H. Q. Hou, "Barrier-layer-thickness control of selective wet oxidation of AlGaAs for embedded optical elements," Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 70, No. 21, (26 May 1997). In addition, a distance 'b' between the lens and the active layer is within a range of tens to thousands of micrometers or more, and controlled according to the size 'a' of the lasing region a, a projection angle of the beam, and the radius of curvature of the lens.
The number of pairs of layers is designed so that the second upper DBR 6 and the first upper DBR 3 have the reflectivity (95 to 99.9 %) corresponding to the upper DBR of a conventional VCSEL. At this time, it is not necessary to dope the second upper DBR 6 to produce an electric conductivity to the DBR 6.
A lased beam at the first wavelength optically pumps the second active
layer 8 of the second wavelength, thereby the beam at the second wavelength is emitted through an upper part of a laser device. Accordingly, the first wavelength is shorter than the second wavelength. For example, the first wavelength is 980 m , and the second wavelength is in a range of 1200 to 1500 nm which is useful to a Raman Optical Amplifier. The reflectivity of the lower DBR 7, with respect to the second wavelength, is higher than that of the upper DBR 9. Because the second wavelength is operated by an optical pumping, it is not necessary that the DBRs 7 and 9 with respect to the second wavelength be doped to produce electrical polarity. This has additional important meanings in the present invention. That is to say, a Raman Optical Amplifier, a main application field of the present invention, utilizes a wavelength of more than 1 μm which is largely absorbed by p-(Al)GaAs, i.e. by a doping level. Accordingly, it is difficult to manufacture a high efficiency semiconductor laser by electrically pumping based on GaAs. However, the present invention solves these problems by using optical excitation.
A detailed description will be given of a method of producing the surface emitting semiconductor laser device with reference to Figs. 2a to 2e. Referring to Fig. 2a, a first upper DBR 3 and an article layer 2 doped to n-type, and a lower DBR 1 doped to p-type are successively formed on the first side of an n-type GaAs substrate 4, thereby forming a first emitting structure emitting a first wavelength by electrically pumping the first wavelength.
Turning now to Fig. 2b, an AlxGaι-xAs layer 5 is formed on the second side of the GaAs substrate 4. The AlxGa1-xAs layer 5 has the Al mole fraction which is higher in an upper portion of the optical lens than in a lower portion of the optical lens.
A second upper DBR 6 with respect to the first wavelength is then formed on the AlxGa1-xAs layer 5. Thereafter, a lower DBR 7 with respect to the second wavelength, a second active layer 8 with respect to the second wavelength, and an upper DBR 9 with respect to the second wavelength are successively formed on the second upper DBR 6, thereby a second emitting structure is formed, in which a second wavelength beam is optically excited by a first wavelength beam at the first
emitting structure. At this time, of course, the second upper DBR 6 belongs in the first emitting structure, as described above.
In Fig. 2c, the layers 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 as described above are partially etched so that a portion of the GaAs substrate surface is exposed. This etching step may be accomplished by a selective etching. In other words, GaAs and
AlGaAs may be selectively etched by a RIE (reactive ion etching) process using
CC12F2 gas.
An optical lens 13 is formed by oxidizing the AlxGaι-xAs layer 5 by use of a lateral wet oxidation process, as shown in Fig. 2d. Formation of the lens 13 is accomplished by a semiconductor oxidation process capable of selectively oxidizing aluminum-gallium-arsenic (AlGaAs) layers positioned deep in an element structure.
With reference to Fig. 2e, an n-type electrode 10 is formed on the second side of the GaAs substrate 4, exposed by partially etching each layer as described above, and a p-type electrode is formed on the lower DBR 1.
Formation of each layer may be accomplished by an MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) process or an MOCVD (Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) process.
Furthermore, the lower DBR 1, the first upper DBR 3 and the second upper DBR 6 of the first emitting structure, and the lower DBR 7 and the upper
DBR 9 of the second emitting structure are formed by alternately layering Al(Ga)As layers and GaAs layers, and the active layers 2 and 8 are formed by layering InGaAs (N), Tertiary or Quaternary Alloy, designed according to the desired wavelength. According to the present invention, the laser device may be produced by forming the layers 1 , 2 and 3 on one substrate, forming remaining the other layers on another substrate, and attaching the two separate substrates to each other by use of a wafer fusion process.
In addition, the DBRs 6, 7 and 9 may consist of a semiconductor DBR formed by alternately layering conventional Al(Ga)As/GaAs, or a DBR composed of GaAs and Al oxide formed by oxidizing AlAs without protecting the lateral side
of an optical lens.
As described above, use of the n-type GaAs substrate 4 is disclosed, but a p-type substrate may be used instead of the n-type substrate to produce the surface emitting semiconductor laser device. At this time, the lower DBR 1 and the first upper DBR 3 with respect to the first wavelength are doped to n-type and p-type, respectively, and a p-type electrode is positioned on the first side of the GaAs substrate 4 on which the second emitting structure is located, and an n-type electrode is positioned on the second side of the GaAs substrate 4 while the n-type electrode is in contact with the lower DBR 1 of the first wavelength. < Second embodiment >
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a surface emitting semiconductor laser device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The high power semiconductor laser device of this embodiment comprises the same constituents as the laser device according to the first embodiment of the present invention except that the laser device of the second embodiment comprises a intermediate DBR 14 instead of the second upper DBR 6 of the first emitting structure and the lower DBR 7 of the second emitting structure.
In other words, one intermediate DBR 14 is formed using a wide stop band in which the second upper DBR of the first emitting structure, with respect to the first and second wavelengths, and the lower DBR of the second emitting structure each produce a desired reflectivity by controlling a unit layer thickness of DBR, an Al mole fraction of a Al(Ga)As layer, and the number of Al(Ga)As/GaAs layers.
According to the present invention, the laser device may further comprise a heat sink which is in contact with the first emitting structure so as to effectively dissipate heat generated inside of the laser device.
Moreover, when it is necessary to completely shield the beams of the first wavelength, the laser device may further comprise a DBR for shielding the beams of the first wavelength. At this time, it is preferable that a dielectric DBR is formed instead of the semiconductor DBR on a laser-emitting surface (the upper side of the upper DBR 9 with respect to the second wavelength) of the laser device
according to the present invention to effectively shield the beams of the first wavelength.
Industrial Applicability
As described above, the present invention provides a high power surface emitting semiconductor laser device which lases in a single longitudinal mode as well as in a single transverse mode.
The present invention is advantageous in that a free earner absorption, caused by optically pumping a beam of 1200 nm or more prevents a reduction in operational efficiency of the laser device. Other advantages of the present invention are that the laser output of this device is not restricted by COD
(Catastrophic Optical Damage) because the lasing region of the device is broad and that the laser device is useful in generating a high power because a heat sink is provided which is in contact with a first lasing structure.
The present invention has been described in an illustrative mam er, and it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, it is to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.