Current and heat spreading transparent layers for surface-emitting lasers
US5596595A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 8, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jan 21, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 8, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/04252
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A surface-emitting laser includes optically transparent layers on a side of a DBR mirror structure that is opposite to an optical cavity of the laser. In one embodiment, the transparent layer is a heat-conducting layer that has an efficient heat transfer relationship with an opening in a top electrode and with a heat-spreading layer. The heat-spreading layer increases the diameter of the electrode, so as to reduce the thermal impedance of the surface-emitting laser. The heat-spreading layer may be annular in shape and may have an inside diameter that is less than the outside diameter of the electrode, allowing the heat-spreading layer to first overlap the electrode and then overlap the portion of the heat-conducting layer that resides on the inside portion of the electrode. In another embodiment, the optically transparent layer is positioned between the top electrode and the top DBR mirror structure of the surface-emitting laser. In this embodiment, the transparent layer is a current-spreading layer that reduces the lateral resistance of the laser. Lateral resistance is reduced by providing a layer having a thickness of one-half of the wavelength of the light energy generated in th…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.