Grown photonic crystals in semiconductor light emitting devices
First Claim
1. A method comprising growing a photonic crystal within a semiconductor structure, the semiconductor structure comprising a light emitting region configured to emit light of wavelength λ
- when forward biased, the light emitting region being disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region, wherein the photonic crystal comprises;
a plurality of regions of semiconductor material having a first refractive index; and
a plurality of regions of a material having a second refractive index, wherein the second refractive index is different from the first refractive index;
wherein the regions of material having a second refractive index are disposed between the regions of semiconductor material in an array, and each region of material having a second refractive index is located less than 5λ
from a nearest neighbor region of material having a second refractive index.
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Abstract
A photonic crystal is grown within a semiconductor structure, such as a III-nitride structure, which includes a light emitting region disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region. The photonic crystal may be multiple regions of semiconductor material separated by a material having a different refractive index than the semiconductor material. For example, the photonic crystal may be posts of semiconductor material grown in the structure and separated by air gaps or regions of masking material. Growing the photonic crystal, rather than etching a photonic crystal into an already-grown semiconductor layer, avoids damage caused by etching which may reduce efficiency, and provides uninterrupted, planar surfaces on which to form electric contacts.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method comprising growing a photonic crystal within a semiconductor structure, the semiconductor structure comprising a light emitting region configured to emit light of wavelength λ
- when forward biased, the light emitting region being disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region, wherein the photonic crystal comprises;
a plurality of regions of semiconductor material having a first refractive index; and
a plurality of regions of a material having a second refractive index, wherein the second refractive index is different from the first refractive index;
wherein the regions of material having a second refractive index are disposed between the regions of semiconductor material in an array, and each region of material having a second refractive index is located less than 5λ
from a nearest neighbor region of material having a second refractive index. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
- when forward biased, the light emitting region being disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region, wherein the photonic crystal comprises;
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32. A device comprising:
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a semiconductor structure comprising a light emitting layer configured to emit light of wavelength λ
, the light emitting layer being disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region, the semiconductor structure having a top surface and a bottom surface; and
a photonic crystal disposed within the semiconductor structure, the photonic crystal comprising;
a plurality of regions of semiconductor material having a first refractive index; and
a plurality of regions of a material having a second refractive index, wherein the second refractive index is different from the first refractive index;
wherein the regions of material having a second refractive index are disposed between the regions of semiconductor material in an array, and each region of material having a second refractive index is located less than 5 λ
from a nearest neighbor region of material having a second refractive index;
wherein the light emitting layer is disposed within the photonic crystal; and
wherein the top surface and the bottom surface of the semiconductor structure are uninterrupted by the photonic crystal. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A device comprising:
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a semiconductor structure comprising a light emitting layer configured to emit light of wavelength λ
, the light emitting layer being disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region, the semiconductor structure having a top surface and a bottom surface; and
a photonic crystal disposed within the p-type region, the photonic crystal comprising;
a plurality of regions of semiconductor material having a first refractive index; and
a plurality of regions of a material having a second refractive index, wherein the second refractive index is different from the first refractive index;
wherein the regions of material having a second refractive index are disposed between the regions of semiconductor material in an array, and each region of material having a second refractive index is located less than 5 λ
from a nearest neighbor region of material having a second refractive index;
wherein the top surface and the bottom surface of the semiconductor structure are uninterrupted by the photonic crystal. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification