Optoelectronic device including improved thermal management

An optoelectronic device, comprising:

• a plurality of epitaxially grown layers, including:
• a substrate;
• an n-type contact layer to the substrate;
• and
• a mesa region adjacent to the n-type contact layer, the mesa region comprising an active layer and a p-type contact layer;
• an n-type electrode to the n-type contact layer;
• a p-type electrode to the p-type contact layer;
• and
• an electrically insulating, thermally conductive semiconductor layer adjacent to the mesa region, wherein a thermal conductivity of the electrically insulating, thermally conductive semiconductor layer is at least five percent of thermal conductivity of at least one of the plurality of epitaxially grown layers.

A method of fabricating a device, the method comprising:

• epitaxially growing a plurality of layers on a substrate, wherein the plurality of layers includes:
• a substrate;
• an n-type contact layer to the substrate;
• a mesa region adjacent to the n-type contact layer, the mesa region comprising an active layer and a p-type contact layer;
• and
• an electrically insulating, thermally conductive semiconductor layer adjacent to the mesa region, wherein a thermal conductivity of the electrically insulating, thermally conductive semiconductor layer is at least five percent of the thermal conductivity of at least one of the plurality of epitaxially grown layer.