Method of making a GaAs-based laser comprising a facet coating with gas phase sulphur

• Main Authors: HOBSON; WILLIAM SCOTT, REN; FAN, SCHNOES; MELINDA LAMONT, CHAKRABARTI; UTPAL KUMAR
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 16.09.1997
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

In a method of making a GaAs-based semiconductor laser, a fully processed wafer is cleaved, typically in the ambient atmosphere, into laser bars, the laser bars are loaded into an evacuable deposition chamber (preferably an ECR CVD chamber) and exposed to a H2S plasma. Following the exposure, the cleavage facets are coated in the chamber with a protective dielectric (preferably silicon nitride) layer. The method can be practiced with high through-put, and can yield lasers (e.g., 980 nm pump lasers for optical fiber amplifiers) capable of operation at high power.