Realization and wafer test of InGaAsP/InP DFB laser/monitor OEICs

Wafer-testable distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and monolithically integrated monitor diodes are realized to replace the time consuming and expensive single-chip test procedure in semiconductor laser fabrication process. Laser-end facets and integrated monitor diodes are defined on 1.5-μm InGaAsP/InP multiple quantum well (MQW) DFB laser wafers by reactive ion beam etching (RIBE). Using terminal electrical noise (TEN) measurement, the lasers are characterized directly on the wafer with respect to threshold current and single mode operation. Threshold currents down to 10 mA have been achieved for the integrated devices     

Semiconductor lasers fabricated by selective area epitaxy

For the first time, semiconductor lasers grown entirely by selective area epitaxy are reported. The lasers were formed by in situ processing techniques and metal organic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE). A 50 AA thick layer of Si deposited on the InP substrate was used as a mask for both the selective growth and etching. Laser stripes, 6 mu m wide, were delineated by a focused Ga ion beam and transferred into the substrate by Cl/sub 2/ etching. These steps were performed in the vacuum chambers attached to the MBE machine. Separate confinement heterostructure GaInAsP-InP lasers were grown selectively in the stripes. The resulting devices emit at 1.3 mu m and show threshold currents of 40 mA.<>     

Fabrication of InGaAsP/InP buried heterostructure laser usingreactive ion etching and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

1.3-μm InGaAsP/InP buried heterostructure lasers were fabricated using Ch₄/H₂ reactive ion etching (RIE) for mesa definition and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition for blocking laser growth. Results show that high-quality lasers can be made using RIE, with threshold current as low as 10 mA. It was also found that a slight chemical etching of the RIE mesas was necessary to obtain lasers with as high quality as those fabricated entirely by wet etching     

Reliability and degradation behaviors of semi-insulating Fe-dopedInP buried heterostructure lasers fabricated by RIE and MOVPE

We clarified the degradation behaviors of semi-insulating buried heterostructure lasers in which mesa structures were fabricated by reactive ion etching (RIE) and then buried in semi-insulating Fe-doped InP grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The degradation rate and mode correlated with the quality of the buried heterostructure (BH) interface. Based on the correlation, a condition for highly stable semi-insulating Fe-doped InP buried heterostructure (SIBH) lasers was demonstrated and confirmed experimentally and statistically     

1.3-μm GaInAsP/InP transverse-mode stabilized buried-crescentlasers by a new fabrication technique using a reactive ion beam etching

Transverse-mode-stabilized, 1.3-μm, GaInAsP/InP, buried-crescent (BC) lasers fabricated using a reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) technique are presented. Yields of single-transverse-mode operation as high as 95% are achieved with low threshold currents of 11-25 mA. Transverse-mode stability under both high-power and long-term operation (50°C, 20 mW, 1000 h) is demonstrated. A coupling efficiency into a single-mode fiber of 63% and a coupled power of 40 mW at 160 mA are achieved. Stable continuous-wave operation is also confirmed under a constant power of 5 mW (50 and 70°C) and 20 mW (50°C) in an aging test     

Mechanistic framework for dry etching, beam assisted etching and tribochemical etching

A mechanistic framework is presented for impact assisted etch reactions. The consecutive reaction steps are assumed to be activated thermally and in parallel mechanically by fast particle impacts. The model explains the complicated temperature dependencies observed in dry etching and beam assisted etching, and it correlates the side wall profiles to the rate determining steps in the etch mechanisms. The framework is used to describe Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE) experiments on InP with Ar⁺ ions and chlorine, in comparison with our recent Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) experiments of magnetic alloys in HCl plasmas. The framework is also applicable to other non-thermally activated etch reactions, as encountered in tribo-chemical etching and laser chemical etching.     

Static and dynamic properties of laterally coupled DFB lasers based on InAs/InP QDash structures

Laterally coupled, complex distributed feedback lasers based on AlInGaAs/InAs/InP quantum dash layers were fabricated by maskless focused ion beam lithography. Continuous-wave powers above 30 mW at room temperature, sidemode suppression ratios of 44 dB and a modulation bandwidth of 7.6 GHz were demonstrated.     

纳米压印制作半导体激光器的分布反馈光栅

分布反馈(DFB)光栅的制作是半导体激光器芯片的关键工艺,通过纳米压印技术在InP基片表面涂覆的光刻胶上压印出DFB光栅图形,并分别通过湿法腐蚀和干法刻蚀技术将光栅图形转移到InP基片上。所制作的DFB光栅周期为240nm(对应于1 550nm波长的DFB激光器),光栅中间具有λ/4相移结构。采用纳米压印技术制作的DFB光栅相对于通常双光束干涉法制作的光栅具有更好的均匀性以及更低的线条粗糙度,而且解决了双光束干涉法无法制作非均匀光栅的技术难题。相对于电子束直写光刻法,采用纳米压印技术制作DFB光栅具有快速与低成本的优势。采用纳米压印技术在InP基片上成功制作具有相移结构的DFB光栅,为进一步进行低成本高性能的半导体激光器芯片的制作奠定了良好基础。     

Lateral Mode Tuning in Coupled Ridge Waveguides Using Focused Ion Beam

Semiconductors - We present an approach for the treatment of coupled-ridge lasers using focused ion beam⁠ (FIB) etching. We show experimentally that the FIB etching allows post-processing...     

侧向腐蚀在1.3μm垂直腔面发射激光器中的应用

研究了广泛应用于垂直腔面发射激光器(VCSEL)等I-V族光电子器件制作的侧向腐蚀技术.分别采用C6H8O7:H2O2溶液、HCl:H3PO4溶液对InAlAs材料,InP材料进行了侧向腐蚀试验,获得了较稳定的速率,并对其腐蚀机制和晶向选择性进行了分析.采用侧向腐蚀技术制备了电流限制孔径分别为11μm和5 μm的1.3...     

Room temperature CW operation ofGa0.3In0.7As/GaInAsP/InP strained MQW lasers withwire active region

A room temperature CW operation of Ga_0.3In_0.7As/GaInAsP/InP GRINSCH compressive strained MQW lasers with 30~60 nm wide wire active region was achieved. This device was fabricated by two-step LP-OMVPE growths on p-type InP substrate and wet chemical etching. Threshold current as low as 53 mA ( L=910 μm, J_th=2.9 kA/cm²) was obtained at RT-CW condition. The spontaneous emission peak and the lasing wavelength of strained MQW wire lasers exhibited approximately 20-meV blue shift from those of MQW film lasers cut out from the same wafer     

Fabrication of highly reflective gratings in 1.5 μm semiconductor lasers using focused ion beam-based etching

This paper reports on fabrication of semiconductor/air gratings in 1.5 μm double-section semiconductor lasers to achieve a high reflectivity in order to compensate low round-trip gain. Fabrication of the gratings with varying thicknesses and with thicknesses down to 160 nm is carried out at the gain section of the double-section diode laser using focused ion beam etching (FIBE) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques. Theoretical results of reflectivity are given for 1.5 μm AlGaInAs/InP semiconductor lasers by adding wavelength dependence of the refractive index into the calculations. We also compare our reflectivity results with that of a commercial simulation program and show a good agreement between them. Our results demonstrate that the gratings fabricated consist of only six air/semiconductor layer pairs and achieve theoretical reflectivity higher than 99%. Due to a high index contrast of the both layers, n_l = 1, n_h ∼ 3.5, a reflectivity bandwidth of >230 nm is obtained in 1.5 μm semiconductor lasers. Finally, lasing operation from AlGaInAs/InP semiconductor lasers with highly reflective grating section is achieved with a low threshold current of ∼8 mA, which is almost three times lower than devices without semiconductor/air gratings.     

Room temperature operation of GaInAs-GaInAsP-InP SCH multiquantum-film laser with narrow wire-like active region

GaInAs-GaInAsP-InP SCH (separate-confinement heterostructure) multiquantum-film lasers with approximately 100-nm-wide wirelike active regions were fabricated by two-step low-pressure organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy (LP-OMVPE) growth and wet chemical etching and operated at room temperature. An increase in the threshold current density in such lasers was drastically reduced by using a preheating process in hydrogen atmosphere and a thin InP cover layer growth prior to the regrowth of a GaInAsP optical confinement layer. The fabrication processes presented can be very effective for realization of room-temperature operation of long-wavelength quantum-wire and quantum-box lasers based on GaInAs-InP materials.<>     

Bromine ion-beam-assisted etching of III–V semiconductors

Bromineion-beam-assisted etching produces smooth vertical sidewalls in GaAs, GaP, InP, AlSb, and GaSb as well as in the usual alloys formed from these materials. Care must be taken, however, during etching to match the specific material system with an appropriate substrate etch temperature. For example, vertical walls were obtained using substrate temperatures in the range of 150 to 200°C with InP, 80 to 140°C with GaAs and GaP, and below 30°C with AlSb and GaSb. GaN has also been etched with the technique. Our etching experience and the vapor pressure data for bromine with group III and group V elements lead us to believe that all of the various technologically important III-V binaries, ternaries, and quaternaries can be etched. Etch rates of most of the materials can be varied from several nm/min to 0.16 μm/min through the bromine flow rate, Ar⁺ ion beam density and energy, and the substrate temperature. Bromine ion-beam-assisted etching also appears to have an advantage over chlorine ion-beam-assisted etching in many situations, in that substrate temperature ranges can be found for which vertical sidewalls are maintained while etching through layered structures composed of various alloys of the materials. Here we present results obtained from etching a number of III-V binaries, alloys, and heterostructures.     

Very low threshold InGaAsP mesa laser

Very low threshold currents InGaAsP/InP terrace mesa (T-ME) lasers with an unpassivated surface have been fabricated on semi-insulating (SI) InP substrates. Fabrication of the lasers involves a single-step liquid phase epitaxial (LPE) growth and a simple etching process. Lasers operating in the fundamental transverse mode with threshold currents as low as 6.3 mA (for a cavity length of 250 μm) have been obtained. Comparison between the unpassivated lasers and those passivated using the mass transport technique is described.     

Fabrication of dry-etched mirrors in GaAs-based and InP-based lasers using chemically assisted ion-beam etching at low temperatures

We have fabricated dry-etched mirrors in high-speed InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic multiple quantum well ridge-waveguide lasers at 60°C and in InGaAs/InP bulk lasers at 5°C using enhanced chemically assisted ion-beam etching (CAIBE) technique. The technique allows the etching of laser structures with good surface morphology and excellent anisotropy without cold traps in the etching system. Characteristics of the dry-etched facet lasers match those of cleaved devices. The low sample temperatures for etching allowed the use of standard photoresists as etch masks.     

Edge-emitting semiconductor microlasers with ultrashort-cavity anddry-etched high-reflectivity photonic microstructure mirrors

We demonstrate very compact low-threshold edge-emitting semiconductor lasers operating at a wavelength of 980 nm, in which periodic microstructure mirrors have been formed at both cavity ends by deep reactive ion etching. From a threshold analysis, we determined reflectivities of ~95% for the seven-period back reflector and ~80% for the three-period front mirror. Lasing has been achieved from 20-μm-long and 8-μm-wide devices exhibiting a current threshold of 7 mA. These are among the shortest in-plane electrically pumped lasers demonstrated so far. State-of-the-art electron beam lithography (EEL) and high-aspect ratio reactive ion etching (RIE) have been used for device fabrication     

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers: Design, growth,fabrication, characterization

The authors have designed, fabricated, and tested vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) with diameters ranging from 0.5 μm to>50 μm. Design issues, molecular beam epitaxial growth, fabrication, and lasing characteristics are discussed. The topics considered in fabrication of VCSELs are microlaser geometries; ion implementation and masks; ion beam etching packaging and arrays, and ultrasmall devices     

Ridge formation for AlGaAs GRINSCH lasers by Cl2reactive ion etching

Optical storage applications for AlGaAs power lasers require single-mode laser operation and well-controlled beam divergence. For AlGaAs GRIN separate confinement heterostructure (GRINSCH) ridge lasers, these optical characteristics are sensitive to the precise ridge geometry of the laser. Directional reactive ion etching with Cl₂ and in situ monitoring of the etch with highly attenuated laser interferometry provide the excellent process control required during formation of the ridge. The process is described, and results are presented for lasers that were fabricated using this technique     

宽带半导体可饱和吸收镜研制方法及选择腐蚀研究

介绍了用于固体激光器被动锁模自启动实现飞秒级脉冲输出的两种波长的带半导体可饱和吸收镜(800nm和1550 nm SESAMs)的研制方法和应用.制作宽带反射层的关键技术之一是AlGaAs/GaAs和InP/InGaAs/InGaAs的选择腐蚀.分别就几种湿法腐蚀和干法腐蚀进行了详细的分析和比较.