Pulsed anodic oxides for III-V semiconductor device fabrication

A simple procedure for the rapid formation of uniform native oxides on various III‐V semiconductor materials is described. A pulsed applied potential drives an anodic oxide formation process on the semiconductor immersed in a glycol:water:acid solution. Uniform oxides up to 2000 A thick can be grown in a few minutes at room temperature and used to define areas for current injection into the semiconductor. AlGaAs diode lasers fabricated with 50‐μm‐wide current stripes defined by pulsed anodic oxide had threshold current densities substantially lower than lasers fabricated with 50‐μm‐wide stripes defined by chemical‐vapor‐deposited SiO2.A simple procedure for the rapid formation of uniform native oxides on various III‐V semiconductor materials is described. A pulsed applied potential drives an anodic oxide formation process on the semiconductor immersed in a glycol:water:acid solution. Uniform oxides up to 2000 A thick can be grown in a few minutes at room temperature and used to define areas for current injection into the semiconductor. AlGaAs diode lasers fabricated with 50‐μm‐wide current stripes defined by pulsed anodic oxide had threshold current densities substantially lower than lasers fabricated with 50‐μm‐wide stripes defined by chemical‐vapor‐deposited SiO2.