Channeled mesa laser

In a heterostructure semiconductor laser comprising a plurality of contiguous layers of semiconductor material on the top surface of a semiconductor substrate, one of said layers forming an active layer for light wave propagation under lasing conditions, said active layer being sandwiched by two first layers each of semiconductor material having a higher bandgap and a lower index of refraction than said active layer, said first layers being sandwiched by two second layers each of semiconductor material having a higher bandgap and a lower index of refraction than said first layers, said first layers providing carrier confinement to said active layer and said second layers providing optical confinement to the confines of said first layers, elongated channel means contiguous with said substrate to cause a nonplanar condition in a region of one of said first layers in close proximity to said substrate during crystal growth, said region being of greater thickness than adjacent regions of said one first layer whereby the geometric shape of said optical confinement produces a more symmetric light emitting aperture from said laser.

In the heterostructure semiconductor laser comprising a plurality of contiguous layers of semiconductor material deposited on a semiconductor substrate, one of said layers formed to be an active layer for light wave propagation under lasing conditions, said laser characterized by a channeled mesa on the surface of said substrate upon and over which said contiguous layers are epitaxially deposited and comprising an elongated mesa having an elongated channel formed in the top surface of said mesa.