Rca Inc.

John C Connolly

Dan Botez

A semiconductor laser comprising a substrate having a plurality of closely spaced channels in the surface thereof with mesas separating the channels to form a channelled region in the surface of the substrate. A first cladding layer overlies the surface of the substrate and the channels and has a surface layer over the channelled region which is not coplanar with the surface of this layer over the surrounding substrate. A cavity region comprising a guide layer and an active layer overlies the first cladding layer and a second cladding layer overlies the active layer. The active layer and guide layer taper in thickness in the lateral direction. The invention also includes a method of fabricating this laser which includes the steps of forming a plurality of corrugations in the surface of the substrate, forming a solution having a super-saturated growth condition for planar and concave surfaces and an under-saturated growth condition for convex surfaces, contacting the corrugated surface to the solution thereby partially melting the convex portions of the corrugations and forming mesas therebetween. Growth over the corrugations is delayed thereby providing a planar surface of the first layer over a central portion of the channelled region which is non-planar with respect to the surface of the layer over the remainder of the substrate. The trough thus formed by the delayed growth over the channelled region provides a curved surface upon which the remaining layers of the laser are then sequentially deposited.

Method of making a double heterostructure laser

Double heterostructure laser

A phase-locked laser array including a plurality of closely spaced channels in the surface of the substrate with lands therebetween with the laser oscillation occurring in a cavity region over each of the channels. A broad-area electrical contact provides uniform electrical current flow to each of the lasing regions. The individual oscillators are coupled by the overlap of their evanescent optical fields. The invention also includes a method of fabricating this array which includes the steps of forming a plurality of corrugations in the surface of a substrate, forming a solution having a super-saturated growth condition for planar and concave surfaces and an under-saturated growth condition for convex surfaces, contacting the corrugated surface to the solution thereby partially melting the convex portions of the surface and forming planar lands between the concave portions of the corrugations. Growth over the lands is delayed thereby providing a planar surface of the first layer upon which the remaining layers are then sequentially deposited.

Method of making a laser array

A semiconductor laser wherein the major surface of a substrate having a pair of channels therein is misoriented from a member of the {100} family of crystallographic planes by a tilt angle between about 0.2.degree. and 1.5.degree.. The misorientation angle of the substrate surface with respect to the axis of the channels is between about 5.degree. and 45.degree..

Semiconductor laser having high manufacturing yield

A semiconductor laser comprising a substrate with a pair of grooves in the surface thereof and a first confinement layer which overlies the surface of the substrate and has a terrace in its surface. An active layer overlies the surface of the first confinement layer and has a portion of maximum thickness and its recombination region over the concave portion of the terrace in the first confinement layer. A weak asymmetric positive index optical guide is thus formed which supports only the fundamental lateral optical mode.

Growing community of inventors

Cranbury, NJ, United States of America

John C Connolly