Semiconductor light emitting device and manufacturing method thereof

• US 6,775,310 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ichihara, Jun, Sai, Hironobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Ip, Paul
• Assistant Examiner(s): Menefee, James
• Application Number:
  US10/152,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20020176475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 372/44-46, 372/49, 372/96, 438/39, 438/41
• US Class Current: 372/45.01
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/105 with a resonant cavity structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/46 Reflective coating, e.g. dielectric Bragg reflector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/642 characterized by the shape
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/173 The laser chip comprising special buffer layers, e.g. dislocation prevention or reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/176 Specific passivation layers on surfaces other than the emission facet
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02461 Structure or details of the laser chip to manipulate the heat flow, e.g. passive layers in the chip with a low heat conductivity
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18338 Non-circular shape of the structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1835 Non-circular mesa
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2027 Reflecting region or layer, parallel to the active layer, e.g. to modify propagation of the mode in the laser or to influence transverse modes
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2205 comprising special burying or current confinement layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2231 with inner confining structure only between the active layer and the upper electrode

Abstract

On a semiconductor substrate (1), a double hetero structure portion (6) in which an active layer (4) having smaller band gap is sandwiched between semiconductor layers (3, 5) having larger band gap than that of the active layer (4) is formed. A light reflection film (9) is formed at least a part of side walls of the double hetero structure portion (6). As a result, a semiconductor light emitting device that light which leaks from side wall of light emitting area in a chip is reduced and emission light can be outputted efficiently can be obtained.

Claims

1. Semiconductor light emitting device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a double hetero structure portion which is formed on said semiconductor substrate and in which an active layer having small band gap is sandwiched between semiconductor layers having larger band gap than that of the active layer; and

a heat radiating film provided on at least a part of side wall of said double hetero structure portion, said heat radiating film being formed as a composite film made of an insulating film which is applied to the side wall of said double hetero structure portion and a metallic film which is applied to an outside of said insulating film, said side wall being vertical to a surface of said semiconductor layers, and said side wall having a surface different from a light emitting surface,

wherein said insulating film has a high amount of reflection and a superior heat conductivity than that of said double hetero structure portion.

2. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said insulating film is formed by an oxide film of metallic film made of at least one of Al and Ni.

3. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said insulating film has a thickness of 5 to 500 nm.

4. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said metallic film is formed of at least one of Cr, Ni, Cu, Pt, Ag and Al.

5. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor light emitting device is formed so as to constitute a light emitting diode.

6. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor light emitting device is formed so as to constitute a stripe type laser diode.

7. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said insulating film is made of metal oxide formed by oxidizing a metal film.

8. The semiconductor light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein said metallic film is electrically independent from an electrode of the device.

9. A semiconductor light emitting device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a double hetero structure portion which is formed on said semiconductor substrate and in which an active layer having small band gap is sandwiched between semiconductor layers having larger band gap than that of the active layer; and

a heat radiating film provided on at least a part of side wall of said double hetero structure portion, said heat radiating film having a high amount of reflection and a superior heat conductivity than that of said double hetero structure portion, said side wall being vertical to a surface of said semiconductor layers, and said side wall having a surface different from a light emitting surface,

wherein said heat radiating film is made of materials including at least one of diamond, diamond like carbon and alumina.

10. A surface emitting type semiconductor laser of a vertical cavity type, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a lower multi-layer reflection film formed on said semiconductor substrate;

a double hetero structure portion which is formed on said lower multi-layer reflection film and in which an active layer with small band gap is sandwiched between semiconductor layers with larger band gap than that of said active layer;

an upper multi-layer reflection film formed on said double hetero structure portion; and

a heat radiating film formed at a side wall which is formed by etching said upper multi-layer reflection film and said double hetero structure portion on the periphery of a certain area serving as a current injection area of said double hetero structure portion, said heat radiating film being formed as a composite film made of an insulating film which is applied to the side wall of said double hetero structure portion and a metallic film which is applied to an outside of said insulating film,

wherein said insulating film has a high amount of reflection and a superior heat conductivity than that of said double hetero structure portion, and laser light exits from an upper surface side of said upper multi-layer reflection film.

11. The semiconductor laser according to claim 10, wherein said semiconductor substrate is made of GaAs, said double hetero structure portion is made of an AlGaAs based compound or an InGaAlP based compound, and each of said lower and upper multi-layer reflection films is formed of multi-layer film made of a GaAs layer and an AlGaAs based compound layer.

12. The semiconductor laser according to claim 10, wherein said active layer has a multi-quantum well structure.

13. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device comprising the steps of:

laminating semiconductor layers on a semiconductor substrate so as to form a double hetero structure portion in which an active layer with small band gap is sandwiched between semiconductor layers with larger band gap than that of said active layer;

etching a part of said laminated semiconductor layers so as to expose a side wall of said double hetero structure portion; and

applying a heat radiating film which has at least an insulating film to said exposed side wall of the double hetero structure portion, said insulating film having a high amount of reflection and a superior heat conductivity than that of said double hetero structure portion.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said insulating film is formed in such a manner that a metallic film is formed by a plating method and then, the metallic film is oxidized.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein after said metallic film is oxidized to form a metal oxide film, a metallic film is formed on said metal oxide film.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein said insulating film is formed in such a manner that portions other than said exposed side wall of the double hetero structure portion are masked and a material for said insulating film is applied by the side wall portion being inclined and rotated.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein said insulating film is formed in such a manner that said material for said insulating film is embedded by deposition into a concave portion which is formed by etching laminated semiconductor layers so as to expose said side wall portion.

18. A method of manufacturing a surface light emitting type semiconductor laser, comprising the steps of:

(a) growing, on a first conductive type semiconductor substrate, a lower multi-layer reflection film which is formed by laminating first conductive type semiconductor layers;

(b) growing, on said lower multi-layer reflection film, a double hetero structure portion comprising a first conductive type lower spacer layer, an active layer made of semiconductor having smaller band gap than that of the spacer layer and a second conductive type upper spacer layer made of semiconductor having larger band gap than that of the active layer;

(c) growing, on said double hetero structure portion, an upper multi-layer reflection film formed by laminating the second conductive type semiconductor layers;

(d) removing said upper multi-layer reflection film and said double hetero structure portion on the periphery of the current injection area by etching;

(e) exposing only side wall exposed by said etching and applying a metallic film on said exposed surface by a plating method; and

(f) forming a metal oxide film by oxidizing said metallic film, said metal oxide film having a high amount of reflection and a superior heat conductivity than that of said double hetero structure portion.

19. A method of manufacturing a surface emitting type semiconductor laser, comprising the steps of:

(a) growing, on a first conductive type semiconductor substrate, a lower multi-layer reflection film which is formed by laminating first conductive type semiconductor layers;

(b) growing, on said lower multi-layer reflection film, a double hetero structure portion comprising a first conductive type lower spacer layer, an active layer made of semiconductor having a smaller band gap than that of the spacer layer and a second conductive type upper spacer layer made of semiconductor having a larger band gap than that of the active layer;

(c) growing, on said double hetero structure portion, an upper multi-layer reflection film formed by laminating the second conductive type semiconductor layers;

(d) removing said upper multi-layer reflection film and said double hetero structure portion on the periphery of the current injection area by etching;

(e) exposing only side wall exposed by said etching and applying an insulating film or an insulating film and a metallic film are directly applied by a CVD method, a sputtering method, a metallic form forming method using particulates, or a vacuum deposition method, said insulating film having a high amount of reflection and a superior heat conductivity than that of said double hetero structure portion.