Semiconductor laser diode on tiled gallium containing material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10044170-B1
Application number	US-201715682148-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Aug 21, 2017
Priority date	Feb 7, 2014
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

In an example, the present invention provides a gallium and nitrogen containing multilayered structure, and related method. The structure has a plurality of gallium and nitrogen containing semiconductor substrates, each of the gallium and nitrogen containing semiconductor substrates (“substrates”) having a plurality of epitaxially grown layers overlaying a top-side of each of the substrates. The structure has an orientation of a reference crystal direction for each of the substrates. The structure has a first handle substrate coupled to each of the substrates such that each of the substrates is aligned to a spatial region configured in a selected direction of the first handle substrate, which has a larger spatial region than a sum of a total backside region of plurality of the substrates to be arranged in a tiled configuration overlying the first handle substrate. The reference crystal direction for each of the substrates is parallel to the spatial region in the selected direction within 10 degrees or less. The structure has a first bonding medium provided between the first handle substrate and each of the substrate while maintaining the alignment between reference crystal orientation and the selected direction of the first handle substrate; and a processed region formed overlying each of the substrates configured concurrently while being bonded to the first handle substrate. Depending upon the embodiment, the processed region can include any combination of the aforementioned processing steps and/or steps.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a laser diode device from a plurality of gallium and nitrogen containing semiconductor substrates, each of the substrates having a plurality of epitaxially grown layers overlying a top-side of the substrate, the method comprising:
determining an orientation of a reference crystal for each of the substrates;
arranging the substrates in a tiled configuration overlying a first handle substrate with the orientation of the reference crystal of each of the substrates being parallel to a spatial region of the first handle substrate to within 10 degrees or less, the spatial region of the substrates being larger than a sum of backside regions of the substrates, wherein arranging the substrates comprises:
aligning the orientation of the reference crystal of one of the substrates to the spatial region of the first handle substrate;
mating a backside region of the substrate, which is aligned with the spatial region, to a surface region of the first handle substrate;
bonding the substrate to the surface region of the first handle substrate using a first bonding medium provided between the first handle substrate and the substrate while maintaining the alignment between the orientation of the reference crystal of the substrate and the spatial region of the first handle substrate; and
repeating the aligning, mating, and bonding steps for one or more additional ones of the substrates to form an array of substrates spatially disposed on the surface region of the first handle substrate in the tiled arrangement;

thereafter processing each of the substrates, concurrently, by forming metal contacts on p-type and/or n-type gallium and nitrogen containing layers of the array of substrates.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the orientation of the reference crystal for each of the substrates is substantially parallel to within 5 degrees or less, parallel to within 3 degrees or less, or parallel to within 1 degree or less to the spatial region.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the orientation of the reference crystal is provided by cleaving the substrates to expose the reference crystal direction, is provided by X-ray diffraction, or is provided by an orienting flat or other shape of a portion of the substrates.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first handle substrate is patterned with one or more alignment marks or discontinuous regions of bonding media to align the spatial region to the orientation of the reference crystal of each of the substrates.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein processing each of the substrates, concurrently, comprises forming ridges for inducing lateral optical mode confinement.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein processing each of the substrates, concurrently, comprises forming dielectric passivation layers overlying the substrates.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein processing each of the substrates, concurrently, comprises thinning the gallium and nitrogen containing substrates via lapping or chemical etching.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising bonding a second handle substrate using a second bonding medium to an upper region of each of the substrates to sandwich each of the substrates between the first handle substrate and the second handle substrate.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein processing each of the substrates, concurrently, comprises forming a dielectric passivation material overlying each of the substrates, and bonding each of the substrates to a third handle substrate using a third bonding medium located between the third handle substrate and the substrates.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising bonding each of the substrates to a third handle substrate; and forming a pair of facets, which are opposite of each other, by cleaving the third handle substrate to yield a composite laser diode bar comprising the third handle substrate bonded to one or more arrays of laser diode devices.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising bonding a second handle substrate using a second bonding medium to an upper region of each of the substrates to sandwich each of the substrates between the first handle substrate and the second handle substrate; and removing the first handle substrate from each of the substrates while the second handle substrate remains attached to each of the substrates; wherein removing the first handle substrate comprises one of a laser lift-off, a mechanical grinding or lapping, a chemical etching of the first handle substrate, or a dissolution of the first bonding medium provided between the first handle substrate and each of the substrates.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising thinning a backside region of each of the substrates using any combination of mechanical lapping and polishing, chemical etching, and physical etching.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising bonding a second handle substrate using a second bonding medium to an upper region of each of the substrates to sandwich each of the substrates between the first handle substrate and the second handle substrate; and processing exposed backside regions of each of the substrates, while being attached to the second handle substrate, to form at least one of metal contacts, bond pads, or dielectric passivation layers.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising bonding a second handle substrate using a second bonding medium to an upper region of each of the substrates to sandwich each of the substrates between the first handle substrate and the second handle substrate; and removing each of the substrates by forming at least a pair of facets, which are opposite of each other, using a cleaving process on each of the substrates.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising bonding a second handle substrate using a second bonding medium to an upper region of each of the substrates to sandwich each of the substrates between the first handle substrate and the second handle substrate; and forming at least a pair of facets, which are opposite of each other, using a cleaving process while a portion of the second handle substrate remains attached to a laser diode bar.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising bonding a second handle substrate using a second bonding medium to an upper region of each of the substrates to sandwich each of the substrates between the first handle substrate and the second handle substrate; and forming at least a pair of facets, which are opposite of each other, using a cleaving process while a portion of the second handle substrate remains attached to a laser diode bar; and
thereafter removing the second handle substrate using at least one of a laser lift-off, mechanical grinding or lapping, chemical etching of the second handle substrate, or dissolution of the second bonding medium provided on the second handle substrate.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a pair of facets, which are opposite of each other, by an etching process selected from at least one of reactive ion etching (RIE), chemical assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), or inductively coupled plasma etching (ICP).

18. A method for manufacturing a laser diode device from a plurality of gallium and nitrogen containing semiconductor substrates, each of the substrates having a plurality of epitaxially grown layers overlying a top-side of the substrate, the epitaxially grown layers including an active region or a plurality of active regions, the method comprising:
determining an orientation of a reference crystal for each of the substrates;
arranging the substrates in a tiled configuration overly

Assignees

• Soraa Laser Diode Inc

Inventors

• Mclaurin Melvin
• Sztein Alexander
• Hsu Po Shan
• Raring James W

Classifications

• H01S5/32025

  non-polar orientation · CPC title

• H10W72/30

  Die-attach connectors · CPC title

• H01S5/0202

  Cleaving · CPC title

• H01S5/2201

  in a specific crystallographic orientation · CPC title

• H01S5/0217

  Removal of the substrate · CPC title