Semiconductor devices fabricated with passivated high aluminum-content III-V material
First Claim
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1. A passivated confined emission light emitting diode comprising:
- a substrate comprised of a semiconductor material;
a P-N junction active region proximate to the substrate;
a current confinement layer proximate to the active region for restricting current flow through the active region;
an exposed Al-bearing semiconductor material layer forming a current spreading window over the current confinement layer and the active region; and
a native oxide layer formed on the exposed Al-bearing semiconductor material layer, the native oxide layer having a thickness of at least 0.1 micrometers and less than 7.0 micrometers, the native oxide layer passivating the light emitting diode by covering the exposed Al-bearing semiconductor material layer in those areas wherethrough a majority of the light generated by the diode is transmitted.
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Abstract
LEDs and other semiconductor devices fabricated with III-V materials and having exposed Al-bearing surfaces passivated with native oxides are disclosed. A known high temperature water vapor oxidation process is used to passivate the exposed layers of Al-bearing III-V semiconductor materials in confined-emission spot LEDs and other light emitting devices. These devices exhibit greatly improved wet, high temperature operating life, with little to no degradation in light output when exposed to such conditions.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A passivated confined emission light emitting diode comprising:
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a substrate comprised of a semiconductor material; a P-N junction active region proximate to the substrate; a current confinement layer proximate to the active region for restricting current flow through the active region; an exposed Al-bearing semiconductor material layer forming a current spreading window over the current confinement layer and the active region; and a native oxide layer formed on the exposed Al-bearing semiconductor material layer, the native oxide layer having a thickness of at least 0.1 micrometers and less than 7.0 micrometers, the native oxide layer passivating the light emitting diode by covering the exposed Al-bearing semiconductor material layer in those areas wherethrough a majority of the light generated by the diode is transmitted. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A semiconductor light emitting diode comprising:
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a substrate region; a P-N junction active region proximate to the substrate region; at least a first current spreading window layer proximate to the P-N junction active region; at least a first exposed Al-bearing III-V semiconductor layer; and at least a first native oxide region overlying the exposed Al-bearing III-V semiconductor layer and at least 0.1 micrometers thick and no more than 7.0 micrometers thick, the native oxide region passivating the semiconductor light emitting diode by covering the exposed Al-bearing III-V semiconductor layer in those areas wherethrough a majority of the photon flux generated by the semiconductor light emitting diode is transmitted. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A confined emission light emitting diode comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; an active region proximate to the substrate; an Al-bearing layer proximate to the active region; a conductive window proximate to the Al-bearing layer; and native oxide spikes, the native oxide spikes extending laterally from at least 50 microns up to 500 microns into the Al-bearing layer, the native oxide spikes limiting current flow through the active region. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification