Method of passivating etched mirror facets of semiconductor laser diodes
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsPeter L. Buchmann, David J. Webb, Peter Vettiger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of passivating etched mirror facets of semiconductor laser diodes which enhances device reliability. The etched mirror facet is first subjected to a weet-etch process to substantially remove any native oxide as well as any surface layer which may have been mechanically damaged during the preceding mirror etch process. Then, a passivation pre-treatment is applied whereby any residual oxygen is removed and a sub-monolayer is formed which permanently reduces the non-radiative recombination of minority carriers at the mirror facet. Finally, the pre-treated mirror surface is coated with a passivation layer to avoid any environmental effect on the mirror.
Claims8
A method of passivating etched mirror facets of a semiconductor laser diode, comprising the steps of:
- a) wet-etching the surfaces of etched mirror facets of a semiconductor laser diode so as to substantially remove any surface layer mechanically damaged during prior mirror etch processes;
- b) applying a passivation pre-treatment to remove any residual surface oxides which may remain after the wet etching of and form a sub-monolayer that remains chemically stable during device lifetime, thereby substantially reducing the number of non-radiative minority carrier recombination centers at the etched mirror facets;
- and
- c) coating the pre-treated mirror facet with a passivation layer that does not react with the interface of the mirror facet, thereby preventing the diffusion of elements capable of reacting with the mirror facet interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.