Ion milling method
US4869780A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 7, 1988 |
| Grant date | Sep 26, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 7, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/2633
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An ion milling method is disclosed that provides a manufacturing technique for mass producing microscopic surface features using a wide variety of media that includes semiconductors, metals, and glasses. In the preferred embodiment, vertical and 45 degree mirrors are formed simultaneously in semiconductor laser diodes in order to produce monolithic two dimensional arrays of surface emitting lasers. Standard double heterostructure semiconductor laser diodes are first grown on a wafer using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition techniques. An ion milling gun is oriented at a particular angle from the longitudinal axis of the active layer of the laser and emits a stream of atomic particles toward the lasers producing a generally two sided cut or notch that extends downward from the top surface of the semiconductor laser and traverses the active layer. The two sides of the cut consist of a vertical face that is perpendicular to the active layer and an inclined mirror surface that connects to the bottom of the vertical face and the slopes back upward to the top of the laser. Although the preferred utilization of this invention is the production of high power semiconductor laser arrays …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.