Photoelectrochemical etching for laser facets

• US 8,263,500 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2010
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Original Assignee: Regents of the University of California (University of California)
• Inventors: Tamboli, Adele C., Hu, Evelyn L., DenBaars, Steven P., Chakraborty, Arpan
• Primary Examiner(s): Coleman, William D
• Application Number:
  US12/697,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20100195684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 438/708, 438/718, 257/E21.22, 216/85
• US Class Current: 438/708
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3063 Electrolytic etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0201 Separation of the wafer into individual elements, e.g. by dicing, cleaving, etching or directly during growth
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0203 Etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/021 Silicon based substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/32341 blue laser based on GaN or GaP

Abstract

A method for fabricating a semiconductor laser device, by etching facets using a photoelectrochemical (PEC) etch, so that the facets are sufficiently smooth to support optical modes within a cavity bounded by the facets.

Claims

1. A method for fabricating a semiconductor laser device, comprising:

forming one or more facets of the semiconductor laser device that are not compromised by ion damage, wherein the facets are formed by etching the facets using only a photoelectrochemical (PEC) etch, the etched facets are not crystallographic, the etched facets are not along a cleavage plane of the semiconductor laser device, and the etched facets are positioned appropriately and are sufficiently smooth to support oscillation of optical modes within a cavity of the semiconductor laser device bounded by the facets.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor laser device is comprised of a III-nitride semiconductor.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling the PEC etch so that the etching of the facets is more photo driven and less chemically driven.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the controlling step further comprises balancing an incident light intensity with electrolyte concentration for the PEC etch.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the controlling step further comprises determining an etched profile of the facets by an incident light direction for the PEC etch.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the etching is controlled to not be crystallographic so that the facets are not along a cleavage plane of the semiconductor laser device.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing the semiconductor laser device, wherein the semiconductor laser device has a structure comprising a III-nitride active layer clad between p-type III-nitride and n-type III-nitride layers, wherein the n-type III-nitride layer is on an n-type GaN substrate;

positioning one or more cathodes on a backside of the n-type GaN substrate;

positioning an insulating and opaque etch mask on the backside of the n-type GaN substrate, wherein the mask has openings;

illuminating the structure through the openings of the mask and from the backside of the n-type GaN substrate with the incident light intensity;

etching the illuminated structure, through the openings of the mask, with the electrolyte concentration to form the facets, which include a first facet at a first end of the structure and a second facet at a second end of the laser structure, wherein the openings of the mask are positioned above desired locations for the first and second facets, and the cathodes are positioned near material to be etched and in contact to the n-type GaN substrate, such that the first and second facets are positioned appropriately to support the oscillation of the optical modes within the cavity bounded by the facets.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

applying an external bias during etching to change a resulting etch rate and morphology.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the etching only proceeds in areas illuminated by the incident light for the PEC etch.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the balancing step further comprises selecting a balance between the incident light intensity with the electrolyte concentration for the PEC etch to achieve a more rapid and deeper etching.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein etching is controlled to not be crystallographic by modifying the electrolyte composition and the incident light intensity during the etching.

12. A method of fabricating a semiconductor laser device, comprising:

forming one or more facets of the semiconductor laser device that are not comprised by ion damage, wherein the facets are formed by wet etching the semiconductor laser device, so that chemical etching only proceeds in areas illuminated by light, and wherein the wet etching comprises etching the facets of the semiconductor laser device using only a photoelectrochemical (PEC) etch, and the etched facets are positioned appropriately and are sufficiently smooth to support oscillation of optical modes within a cavity of the semiconductor laser device bounded by the facets.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the semiconductor laser device is comprised of a III-nitride semiconductor.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising controlling the PEC etch so that the etching of the facets is more photo driven and less chemically driven.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the etched facets are not crystallographic and are not along a cleavage plane of the semiconductor laser device.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing the semiconductor laser device, wherein the semiconductor laser device has a structure comprising a III-nitride active layer clad between p-type III-nitride and n-type III-nitride layers, wherein the n-type III-nitride layer is on an n-type GaN substrate;

positioning one or more cathodes on a backside of the n-type GaN substrate;

positioning an insulating and opaque etch mask on the backside of the n-type GaN substrate, wherein the mask has openings;

illuminating the structure through the openings of the mask and from the backside of the n-type GaN substrate with the incident light intensity;

etching the illuminated structure, through the openings of the mask, with the electrolyte concentration to form the facets, which include a first facet at a first end of the structure and a second facet at a second end of the laser structure, wherein the openings of the mask are positioned above desired locations for the first and second facets, and the cathodes are positioned near material to be etched and in contact to the n-type GaN substrate, such that the first and second facets are positioned appropriately to support the oscillation of the optical modes within the cavity bounded by the facets.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

applying an external bias during etching to change a resulting etch rate and morphology.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling step further comprises balancing an incident light intensity with electrolyte concentration for the PEC etch.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the controlling step further comprises determining an etched profile of the facets by an incident light direction for the PEC etch.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the balancing step further comprises selecting a balance between the incident light intensity with the electrolyte concentration for the PEC etch to achieve a more rapid and deeper etching.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the etching is controlled to not be crystallographic so that the facets are not along a cleavage plane of the semiconductor laser device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein etching is controlled to not be crystallographic by modifying the electrolyte composition and the incident light intensity during the etching.