Manufacturable multi-emitter laser diode

• US 10,566,767 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2016
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera SLD Laser Incorporated (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Soraa Laser Diode, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Steigerwald, Dan, McLaurin, Melvin, Goutain, Eric, Sztein, Alexander, Hsu, Po Shan, Rudy, Paul, Raring, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Karimy, Timor
• Application Number:
  US15/351,326
• Publication Number:
  US 20170063047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 438 33
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0087 for illuminating phosphorescent or fluorescent materials, e.g. using optical arrangements specifically adapted for guiding or shaping laser beams illuminating these materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0202 Cleaving
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0203 Etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0215 Bonding to the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0216 using an intermediate compound, e.g. a glue or solder
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0217 Removal of the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0218 Substrates comprising semiconducting materials from other groups of the Periodic Table than the materials of the active layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/04253 having specific optical properties, e.g. transparent electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/04256 characterised by the configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/04257 having positive and negative electrodes on the same side of the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/22 having a ridge or stripe structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/34333 with a well layer based on Ga(In)N or Ga(In)P, e.g. blue laser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4012 Beam combining, e.g. by the use of fibres, gratings, polarisers, prisms
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4031 Edge-emitting structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4056 emitting light in more than one direction
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4087 emitting more than one wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4093 Red, green and blue [RGB] generated directly by laser action or by a combination of laser action with nonlinear frequency conversion

Abstract

A multi-emitter laser diode device includes a carrier chip singulated from a carrier wafer. The carrier chip has a length and a width, and the width defines a first pitch. The device also includes a plurality of epitaxial mesa dice regions transferred to the carrier chip from a substrate and attached to the carrier chip at a bond region. Each of the epitaxial mesa dice regions is arranged on the carrier chip in a substantially parallel configuration and positioned at a second pitch defining the distance between adjacent epitaxial mesa dice regions. Each of the plurality of epitaxial mesa dice regions includes epitaxial material, which includes an n-type cladding region, an active region having at least one active layer region, and a p-type cladding region. The device also includes one or more laser diode stripe regions, each of which has a pair of facets forming a cavity region.

Claims

1. A multi-emitter laser diode device, the laser diode device comprising:

a carrier chip singulated from a carrier wafer, the carrier chip being characterized by a length and a width;

a plurality of epitaxial mesa dice regions transferred to the carrier chip from a substrate and attached to the carrier chip with a bonding material at a bond region, the substrate having multiple epitaxial mesa dice regions positioned at an epitaxial wafer die pitch, the epitaxial wafer die pitch being designated as a first pitch;

each of the epitaxial mesa dice regions arranged on the carrier chip in a substantially parallel configuration and positioned at a second pitch defining the distance between adjacent epitaxial mesa dice regions, each of the plurality of epitaxial mesa dice regions comprising epitaxial material;

the epitaxial material comprising an n-type cladding region, an active region comprising at least one active layer overlying the n-type cladding region, and a p-type cladding region overlying the at least one active layer;

a plurality of laser diode stripe regions formed in a ridge region in a top portion of the plurality of epitaxial mesa dice regions and away from the bonding material in the bond region;

each of the laser diode stripe regions configured with a pair of facets wherein a first facet is configured on a first end of the stripe and a second facet is configured on the second end of the stripe region to form a cavity region; and

wherein a pair of the laser diode stripe regions is spaced by a third pitch from an adjacent pair of the laser diode stripe regions, wherein a pair of the laser diode stripe regions form a multiple-stripe laser die, the second pitch is a first integer multiple, N, of the epitaxial wafer die pitch, and the third pitch is a second integer multiple, M, of the epitaxial wafer die pitch, wherein N≥

1 and M>

N.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the pair of facets are configured from a cleaving process or an etching process, the etching process being selected from inductively coupled plasma etching, chemical assisted ion beam etching, or reactive ion beam etching.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the second pitch defining the distance between the adjacent epitaxial dice regions configured with laser stripes is between 10 microns and 50 microns, or between 50 microns and 150 microns, or between 150 microns and 500 microns.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein each multi-emitter laser device further comprising forming one or more components overlying the carrier chip, the one or more components being selected from one or more of a metal contact region, a metal interconnect region, or a metal bonding pad.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein at least a pair of laser diode regions formed on adjacent epitaxial mesa dice regions are electrically connected in series via a metal interconnect region or a metal contact region.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein at least a pair of laser diode regions formed on adjacent epitaxial mesa dice regions are electrically connected in parallel via a metal interconnect region or a metal contact region.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the bond region is comprised of a metal, an oxide, a glass, a soldering alloy, a polymer, or a wax.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the epitaxial material is gallium and nitrogen containing and grown on a polar, non-polar, or semi-polar plane.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the epitaxial material comprises at least one of GaN, AIN, InN, InGaN, AlGaN, InAlN, InAlGaN, AlAs, GaAs, GaP, InP, AlP, AlGaAs, AlInAs, InGaAs, AlGaP , AlInP, InGaP, AlInGaP, AlInGaAs, or AlInGaAsP.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the carrier wafer comprises at least one of silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, diamond, sapphire, gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, silicon, beryllium oxide, gold, silver, copper, or graphite, carbon nanotubes or graphene or composites thereof.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device is configured as a laser bar.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a gallium and nitrogen containing substrate such as a GaN substrate and the epitaxial material is gallium and nitrogen containing epitaxial material;

wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device emits in the 350 to 450 nm range or in the 450 to 550 nm range.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a gallium and arsenic containing substrate such as a GaAs substrate and the epitaxial material is gallium and arsenic containing epitaxial material;

wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device emits in the 600 to 700 nm range, or in the 700 to 800 nm range, or in the 800 to 900 nm range, or in the 900 to 1000 nm range, or in the 1000 to 1100 nm range.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate is an indium and phosphorous containing substrate such as an InP substrate and the epitaxial material is indium and phosphorous containing epitaxial layers;

wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device emits in the 1100 to 1300 nm range, or in the 1300 to 1400 nm range, or in the 1500 to 1600 nm range.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device is configured with an optical combiner to combine the optical output of the multi-emitters.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device is configured with collimating optics to collimate output beams from the multi-emitters;

wherein the collimating optics comprise a common fast axis collimating lens and/or a common slow axis collimating lens to collimate multiple emitted beams.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the multi-emitter laser diode device is configured with collimating optics to collimate output beams from the multi-emitters;

wherein the collimating optics comprise a lens array.

18. The device of claim 1, where the substrate has a thermal conductivity greater than about 150 K/mW.

19. The device of claim 1, wherein a bond pad is located on the side of the carrier opposite the bonded epitaxial material;

wherein the laser diode device comprises one or more gallium and nitrogen containing violet or blue emitting laser diodes operable at optical output powers above about 1 W;

wherein the carrier chip resulting from the substrate has a thermal conductivity of greater than about 150 K/mW and is comprised of one or more of silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, beryllium oxide, gold, silver, copper, or graphite, carbon nanotubes or grapheme or composites thereof; and

wherein the optical output is configured to excite a wavelength conversion material such as a phosphor material.