Diode laser and method for manufacturing a high-efficiency diode laser

US8846425B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. · DE

Inventors

• Olaf Brox · Berlin, DE
• Frank Bugge · Berlin, DE
• Paul Crump · Berlin, DE
• Goetz Erbert · Plauen, DE
• Andre Maassdorf · Berlin, DE
• Christoph Schultz · Essen, DE
• Hans Wenzel · Santa Ana, US
• Markus Weyers · Wildau, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 21, 2012
• Grant date: Sep 30, 2014
• Expiry date: Nov 21, 2032

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S2304/00
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A diode laser having aluminum-containing layers and a Bragg grating for stabilizing the emission wavelength achieves an improved output/efficiency. The growth process is divided into two steps for introducing the Bragg grating, wherein a continuous aluminum-free layer and an aluminum-free mask layer are continuously deposited after the first growth process such that the aluminum-containing layer is completely covered by the continuous aluminum-free layer. Structuring is performed outside the reactor without unwanted oxidation of the aluminum-containing semiconductor layer. Subsequently, the pre-structured semiconductor surface is further etched inside the reactor and the structuring is impressed into the aluminum-containing layer. In this process, so little oxygen is inserted into the semiconductor crystal of the aluminum-containing layers in the environment of the grating that output and efficiency of a diode laser are not reduced as compared to a diode laser without grating layers that was produced in an epitaxy step.