Patent · US Expired

Group III nitride compound semiconductor laser diode and method for producing same

US5604763A · kind A · utility

36Cited by
2References
8Claims
0Family size

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Key dates

Filing dateApr 19, 1995
Grant dateFeb 18, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 19, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01S5/0213
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An improved laser diode is made of a gallium nitride compound semiconductor ((Al.sub.x Ga.sub.1-x).sub.y In.sub.1-y N; 0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1; 0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1) with a double heterojunction structure having the active layer held between layers having a greater band gap. The laser diode comprises mirror surfaces formed by cleaving the multi-layered coating and the sapphire substrate in directions parallel to <0001> (c axis) of the sapphire substrate. The intermediate zinc oxide (ZnO) layer is selectively removed by wet etching with a ZnO-selective liquid etchant so as to form gaps between the sapphire substrate and the bottom-most sub-layer of the semiconductor laser element layer. The semiconductor laser element layer is cleaved with the aid of the gaps, and the resulting planes of cleavage are used as the mirror surfaces of the laser cavity.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.