Group II-VI material semiconductor optical device with strained multiquantum barriers

• US 5,362,974 A
• Filed: 06/09/1993
• Issued: 11/08/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Furukawa Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Iga, Kenichi, Irikawa, Michinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Hille, Rolf
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, MINH LOAN
• Application Number:
  US08/073,434
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• Field of Search: 257/14, 257/15, 257/17, 257/18, 257/97, 257/96, 372/45, 372/46, 372/43
• US Class Current: 257/15
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/06 within the light emitting region, e.g. quantum confinement structure or tunnel barrier
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/20 Structure or shape of the semiconductor body to guide the optical wave ; Confining structures perpendicular to the optical axis, e.g. index or gain guiding, stripe geometry, broad area lasers, gain tailoring, transverse or lateral reflectors, special cladding structures, MQW barrier reflection layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2013 MQW barrier reflection layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/347 in AIIBVI compounds, e.g. ZnCdSe- laser
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/761 Superlattice with well or barrier thickness adapted for increasing the reflection, transmission, or filtering of carriers having energies above the bulk-form conduction or valence band energy level of the well or barrier, i.e. well or barrier with n-integer-λ-carrier-/4 thickness
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/824 Group II-VI nonoxide compounds, e.g. CdxMnyTe

Abstract

This invention provides a blue light semiconductor optical device capable of effectively oscillating in a temperature range above room temperature. A double hetero structure semiconductor optical device according to the invention is made of a compound semiconductor containing Zn and/or Cd as group II elements and S and/or Se and/or Te as group VI elements and comprises an active layer, a light confining layer and a cladding layer arranged on a semiconductor substrate as well as a multiquantum barrier structure having a strained superlattice layer in part of the cladding layer or the light confining layer for an effect of reflecting incident carriers as waves in phase conditions capable of allowing mutual enhancement of the incident and reflected waves.

Claims

1. A semiconductor optical device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a first cladding layer formed on said semiconductor substrate;

a first optical confinement layer formed on said first cladding layer;

an active layer formed on said first optical confinement layer;

a multiquantum barrier layer formed on said active layer;

a second optical confinement layer formed on said multiquantum barrier layer; and

a second cladding layer formed on said second optical confinement layer;

wherein said multiquantum barrier layer comprises a strained layer superlattice of group II-VI material, and said cladding layers comprise ZnS_x Se_1-x (0<

x<

1) or Zn_x Cd_1-x S (0<

x<

1).

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said multiquantum barrier layer comprises alternately formed layers of tensile strained layers and compressive strain layers.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said multiquantum barrier layer comprises layers of Zn_x Cd_1-x S_y Se_1-y (0<

x, y<

1) and layers of ZnS_x Se_1-x, (0<

x<

1).

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said multiquantum barrier layer comprises layers of Zn_x Cd_1-x Te (0<

x<

1 ) and layers of ZnS_x Se_1-x, (0<

x<

1).

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate layer comprises GaAs.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate layer comprises GaP.

7. The device claim 1, wherein the substrate layer comprises InGaAs.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the multiquantum barrier layer comprises:

a first barrier layer formed on said active layer comprising two layers of ZnSe; and

a second barrier layer formed on said first active layer comprising alternately disposed tensile strain layers and compressive strain layers.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the tensile strain layers of the second barrier layer comprise ZnS_x Se_1-x, (0<

x<

1). the compressive strain layers comprise Zn_x Cd_1-x Se (0<

x<

1).