Laser diodes with an etched facet and surface treatment

• US 9,608,407 B1
• Filed: 10/08/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera SLD Laser Incorporated (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Soraa Laser Diode, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Raring, James W., Schmidt, Mathew C., Ellis, Bryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhang, Yuanda
• Application Number:
  US14/878,387
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/02 ASE (amplified spontaneous emission), noise; Reduction thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/17 Semiconductor lasers comprising special layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0202 Cleaving
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0203 Etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1082 with a special facet structure, e.g. structured, non planar, oblique
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/22 having a ridge or stripe structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2201 in a specific crystallographic orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/32025 non-polar orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/320275 semi-polar orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/32341 blue laser based on GaN or GaP
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/34333 with a well layer based on Ga(In)N or Ga(In)P, e.g. blue laser

Abstract

A gallium- and nitrogen-containing laser device including an etched facet with surface treatment to improve an optical beam is disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a laser diode device, the method comprising:

providing a gallium and nitrogen containing substrate, the substrate comprising a surface region;

forming an n-type cladding region overlying the surface region;

forming an active region comprising at least one active layer region overlying the n-type cladding region, the active region comprising a quantum well region or a double hetero-structure region;

forming a p-type cladding region overlying the active region;

forming, using an etching process, a laser stripe region overlying a portion of the surface region, the laser stripe region comprising a first end configured on one side of the laser stripe region and a second end configured on another side of the laser stripe region, a first etched facet provided on the first end of the laser stripe region, and a second etched facet formed on the second end of the laser stripe region, a laser stripe length characterizing a spatial distance between the first etched facet and the second etched facet;

forming a first edge region configured within a vicinity of the first etched facet such that a first spatial off-set is provided between the first edge region and first etched facet, and the first spatial off-set is configured in a direction normal to a surface of the first etched facet, wherein the first etched facet includes a first portion of the n-type cladding region and the first edge region includes a second portion of the n-type cladding region;

forming a second edge region configured within a vicinity of the second facet; and

performing a first treatment process overlying a portion of the first edge region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process forms a reflector, an absorber, or a scatterer to interact with electromagnetic radiation provided from the substrate;

wherein the first spatial offset is characterized by a length ranging from about 0.5 micron to about 100 microns.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a second spatial off-set provided between the second edge region and the second facet, the second spatial off-set configured in a direction normal to a surface region of the second facet;

and performing a second treatment process overlying a portion of the second edge region.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the first edge region is provided by a scribing and breaking process or a cleaving process.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein then-type cladding region is substantially free from aluminum species;

and wherein the p-type cladding region is substantially free from aluminum species.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the p-type cladding region is substantially free from aluminum species.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process comprises a laser scribe process.

8. The method of claim 1, where the surface region is defined by a nonpolar m-plane orientation or having an offcut of the non-polar m-plane orientation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface region is defined by a semipolar orientation selected from a (30-3-1) plane, a (30-31) plane, a (20-2-1) plane, a (20-21) plane, a (30-3-2) plane, and a (30-32) plane, or an offcut of the semi polar orientation.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface region is defined by the polar c-plane surface or an offcut of the polar c-plane orientation.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising emitting electromagnetic radiation from the laser diode device in a wavelength range of 400 nm to 435 nm, a range of 435 nm to 480 nm, a range of 480 nm to 505 nm, or a range of 505 nm to 550 nm.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second facet is coupled with the second edge region, the second edge region comprises a single surface or multiple surfaces, and the second edge region has an off-set distance from the second facet.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second edge region and the second facet region are formed on a common surface region.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the second edge region and the second facet region are formed on a common surface region by a cleaving or by a scribing technique.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process is provided by a laser apparatus operable at a wavelength of about 270 nm to 370 nm.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process comprises a laser scribing technique that separates a wafer into the device or devices.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process comprises a metal deposition.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process comprises a dielectric deposition selected from silicon oxide, silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, titania, hafnia, tantalum pentoxide, zirconia, and a combination of any of the foregoing.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the first etched facet is formed by a dry etching process selected from inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching, reactive ion etching (RIE), chemical assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), and a combination of any of the foregoing.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first treatment process is configured to interact with electromagnetic radiation provided from the substrate to reduce an intensity of the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the first edge region from a first intensity value to a second intensity value, the second intensity value being less than half of the first intensity value.