Special Issue Papers Full-Wafer Technology-A New Approach to Large-scale Laser Fabrication and Integration

A new concept for full-wafer processing and test- ing for semiconductor laser fabrication in the AIGaAs-GaAs material system will be presented. The approach is based on chemically assisted ion beam etching for the laser-mirror for- mation. The technique routinely provides excellent mirror quality with mirror roughness of less than 200 A, resulting in mirror reflectivities of about 30% and scattering losses of less than 2%. Lasers with two etched mirrors have been fabricated that show equivalent output powerlcurrent (P/I) characteris- tics to lasers on the same wafer with both mirrors cleaved, up to more than 40 mW (CW) for uncoated mirrors. Single-mode operation exceeding 50 mW output power has been achieved for an SQW-GRINSCH ridge laser structure with coated, etched mirrors. Furthermore, the etching technique has been used to fabri- cate special devices and structures for on-wafer parametric laser and beam property characterization. This new approach to full-wafer testing allows efficient on-wafer functional testing of a large number of lasers on a 2-in wafer, with considerable improvement in testing throughput. The concept also incorpo- rates many test sites for process characterization which provide important feedback for process improvement/optimization. In addition to the above advantages of full-wafer processing and testing, the availability of high-quality etched mirrors will pro- vide the potential for lasers with specially shaped mirrors, and will open up new opportunities for opto-electronic integration. The approach described has been developed for lasers to be used in optical storage at wavelengths of 830 and 856 nm. How- ever, the basic concept can be applied to semiconductor laser fabrication in any other material system and wavelength range. The major difference will be the adaptation of the mirror-etch- ing process to the composition of the material.

[1]  M. Ettenberg,et al.  A new dielectric facet reflector for semiconductor lasers , 1978 .

[2]  M. Roukes,et al.  Electrical Damage Induced by Ion Beam Etching of GaAs , 1988 .

[3]  E. D. Wolf,et al.  High‐power AlGaAs/GaAs single quantum well lasers with chemically assisted ion beam etched mirrors , 1987 .

[4]  P. Buchmann,et al.  High-power ridge-waveguide AlGaAs GRIN-SCH laser diode , 1986 .

[5]  Joseph M. Ballantyne,et al.  Rectangular and L-shaped GaAs/AlGaAs lasers with very high quality etched facets , 1989 .

[6]  Kiyoshi Asakawa,et al.  Chemically enhanced focused ion beam etching of deep grooves and laser‐mirror facets in GaAs under Cl2 gas irradiation using a fine nozzle , 1987 .

[7]  M. Sergant,et al.  Surface-emitting GaAlAs/GaAs laser with etched mirrors , 1986 .

[8]  S.R. Forrest.  Optoelectronic integrated circuits , 1987, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[9]  G. A. Vawter,et al.  Nonselective etching of GaAs/AlGaAs double heterostructure laser facets by Cl2 reactive ion etching in a load‐locked system , 1987 .

[10]  Amnon Yariv,et al.  Phase-locked arrays of unstable resonator semiconductor lasers , 1986 .

[11]  C. Misiano,et al.  Deposition of optical thin films by ion beam sputtering , 1984 .

[12]  M. Uchida,et al.  An AlGaAs laser with high-quality dry etched mirrors fabricated using an ultrahigh vacuum in situ dry etching and deposition processing system , 1988 .

[13]  P. Vettiger,et al.  Chemically assisted ion beam etching process for high quality laser mirrors , 1989 .

[14]  G. Kano,et al.  A new chemical etching technique for formation of cavity facets of (GaAl)As lasers , 1985, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[15]  M. Ettenberg,et al.  Al2O3 half‐wave films for long‐life cw lasers , 1977 .

[16]  Y. Suematsu,et al.  Integrated optics approach for advanced semiconductor lasers , 1987, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[17]  D. Webb,et al.  Thermodynamics approach to catastrophic optical mirror damage of AlGaAs single quantum well lasers , 1989 .

[18]  W. D. Goodhue,et al.  Monolithic GaAs/AlGaAs diode laser/deflector devices for light emission normal to the surface , 1986 .

[19]  H. Matsueda.  AlGaAs OEIC transmitters , 1987 .

[20]  Tomoyuki Yamada,et al.  Short cavity GaAs/AlGaAs multiquantum well lasers by dry etching , 1986 .

[21]  Stella W. Pang,et al.  Dry etching induced damage on vertical sidewalls of GaAs channels , 1988 .

[22]  H. Casey,et al.  Heterostructure lasers , 1978 .

[23]  K. Asakawa,et al.  GaAs and AlGaAs anisotropic fine pattern etching using a new reactive ion beam etching system , 1985 .

[24]  H. Pulker,et al.  Characterization of optical thin films. , 1979, Applied optics.

[25]  J. Puretz,et al.  Focused-ion-beam micromachined AlGaAs semiconductor laser mirrors , 1986 .

[26]  S. Yamashita,et al.  Monolithic integration of laser diodes, photomonitors, and laser driving and monitoring circuits on a semi-insulating GaAs , 1986 .

[27]  Wilfried Lenth,et al.  Very high-power (425 mW) AlGaAs SQW-GRINSCH ridge laser with frequency-doubled output (41 mW at 428 nm) , 1991 .

[28]  David J. Webb,et al.  Degradation and lifetime studies of high-power single-quantum-well AlGaAs ridge lasers , 1990 .

[29]  G. A. Lincoln,et al.  Large area ion beam assisted etching of GaAs with high etch rates and controlled anisotropy , 1983 .