Quaternary II-VI materials for photonics
AssigneeSanta Barbara Research Center
InventorWilliam L. Ahlgren
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A photonic device includes a substrate and a region comprised of a quaternary Group II-VI material supported by the substrate. Examples of quaternary Group II-IV alloys include Hg, Zn, S and Se; Hg, Zn, Se and Te; Zn, S, Se and Te; Zn, Mn, S and Se; and Hg, Cd, Zn and S. By example, the quaternary material HgZnSSe, which is lattice-matched to ZnSe or GaAs, and the quaternary material HgZnSeTe, which is lattice-matched to ZnTe or GaSb, are employed in the construction of lasers, LEDs and detectors suitable for use over a range of wavelengths. The energy bandgap of the HgZnSSe alloy may be varied to achieve emission over the entire visible spectrum while the HgZnSeTe alloy emits within the spectrum from green to far infrared.
Claims16
A photonic device including a region comprised of a quaternary Group II-VI alloy containing Hg as one atomic constituent and a substrate supporting the region, the substrate having a characteristic lattice constant, and wherein the quaternary Group II-VI alloy has a composition selected for substantially lattice matching the region to the substrate and also for providing the region with an energy bandgap associated with a wavelength of interest.
A double heterojunction injection laser comprising:
- a substrate;
- a first cladding layer overlying the substrate, the first cladding layer being comprised of a binary or a ternary Group II-VI material having a first type of electrical conductivity;
- an active region overlying the first cladding layer, the active region being comprised of a quaternary Group II-VI alloy containing Hg as one atomic constituent;
- and
- a second cladding layer overlying the active region, the second cladding layer being comprised of a binary or a ternary Group II-VI material having a second type of electrical conductivity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.