JP2010068007A - Nitride semiconductor laser device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nitride semiconductor light-emitting device having high reliability and high production efficiency owing to an adhesion layer which improves adhesion between an end face of a resonator and an end face coating film, without requiring control for the thickness of the coating for inhibiting a short circuit of pn junction and light absorption, unlike metal adhesion layers. <P>SOLUTION: An adhesion layer 115 made of a hexagonal crystal is laid on the end face 113 of the resonator on the frontal side of a nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 having a group III-V nitride semiconductor layer, the end face coating film 116 is laid on the adhesion layer 115, and similarly, an adhesion layer 118 made of a hexagonal crystal semiconductor layer is laid on the end face 114 of the resonator on the back side, and the end face coating film 117 is laid on the adhesion layer 118. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a nitride semiconductor laser device including a group III-V nitride semiconductor layer and an end face coating film formed on an end face of a resonator.

In recent years, there has been a demand for higher density storage capacity of optical disks, and standardization of BD (Blu-ray Disc) and HD-DVD (High Definition DVD) using a blue semiconductor laser, and commercialization of decoders, etc. Has been done. These new discs require highly reliable high-power blue semiconductor lasers in order to enable higher density (corresponding to double-layer discs) and high-speed writing.

The AlGaAs-based or InGaAlP-based semiconductor laser for reproducing and writing conventional CD or _{DVD, SiO 2, Si 3 N} 4, Al 2 O 3 or the like in order to prevent optical damage to the degradation and the resonator end face of the cavity end face The dielectric film is coated on the end face of the resonator. When this method was used for a blue semiconductor laser, a rapid increase in drive current was observed. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the coating technology.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a method of forming an end face coat film on the end face of the resonator via a metal adhesion layer because one of the causes of end face deterioration is poor adhesion between the end face of the resonator and the end face coat film. Has been.

JP 2002-335053 A

However, when a metal film is used for the adhesion layer, the pn junction on the resonator end face is short-circuited, and the light absorption is also increased. In a nitride semiconductor laser, since the oscillation wavelength is short and the energy of light is large, the emission end face is deteriorated by slight light absorption, so that it is difficult to realize a high output device having an optical output exceeding 100 mW. . On the other hand, it is necessary to control the film thickness to 10 nm or less, more preferably 5 nm or less, and even more preferably 2 nm or less from the viewpoint of suppressing pn junction short circuit and light absorption. In this case, the difficulty in controlling the film thickness causes a decrease in yield.

  The present invention does not require a film thickness controllability for suppressing pn junction short-circuit and light absorption unlike a metal adhesion layer, and provides an adhesion layer that improves the adhesion between the resonator end face and the end face coat film. An object of the present invention is to provide a nitride semiconductor laser device having high reliability and high production efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, a nitride semiconductor laser device of the present invention includes:
Nitride semiconductor layer, electrode formed on nitride semiconductor layer, resonator formed on nitride semiconductor layer, adhesion layer formed on end face of resonator, and formed on adhesion layer In the nitride semiconductor laser device provided with the end face coating film formed,
The adhesion layer and the nitride semiconductor layer are composed of hexagonal crystals,
The end face coat film includes a composition element common to the adhesion layer.

According to this configuration, since the hexagonal crystal is used as the adhesion layer, the compatibility with the nitride semiconductor layer made of the same hexagonal single crystal is good, so that the adhesion layer is firmly bonded to the end face of the resonator. .

  According to the present invention, in the nitride semiconductor laser element configured as described above, the adhesion layer is AlN.

  According to the present invention, in the nitride semiconductor laser element configured as described above, the end face coat film includes an oxide.

  According to the present invention, in the nitride semiconductor laser device configured as described above, the end face coating film has a single layer of Si nitride or a multilayer structure of Si nitride and oxide.

  According to the present invention, in the nitride semiconductor laser element configured as described above, the adhesion layer is formed at a temperature of room temperature to 200 ° C. According to this configuration, the adhesion layer can be formed without degrading the active layer.

According to the present invention, by using a hexagonal crystal as the adhesion layer, current leakage and light absorption can be suppressed, and the end face coat film can be firmly adhered to the end face of the resonator. As a result, reliability and production efficiency are improved.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the direction perpendicular to the cavity length of the nitride semiconductor laser bar. FIG. 3 is a side view of a nitride semiconductor laser bar as seen from the lateral direction of the cavity length. These are data of a life test of the nitride semiconductor laser device. FIG. 5 is a side view of another nitride semiconductor laser bar as viewed from the lateral direction of the cavity length. These are the data of the lifetime test of the nitride semiconductor laser element which made the adhesion layer AlN. These are the data of the lifetime test of the conventional nitride semiconductor laser element.

The nitride semiconductor wafer on which the laser structure and the electrode are formed is cleaved into bars by a scribe and break technique using diamond points. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a nitride semiconductor laser bar in a direction perpendicular to the cavity length. The nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 includes an n-AlGaInN buffer layer 102, an n-AlGaInN cladding layer 103, an n-AlGaInN guide layer 104, an AlGaInN multiple quantum well active layer 105, and a p-AlGaInN guide layer in order from the n-type GaN substrate 101 side. 106, a p-AlGaInN cladding layer 107, and a p-AlGaInN contact layer 108 are stacked. Note that a III-V nitride semiconductor can be used for these nitride semiconductor layers.

The active layer 105 may contain about 0.01 to 10% of a V group material such as As or P. At least a part of the p-AlGaInN guide layer 106, the p-AlGaInN cladding layer 107, and the p-AlGaInN contact layer 108 is provided with a striped ridge 111 extending in the resonator direction. The width of the stripe is about 1.2 to 2.4 μm, typically about 1.8 μm.

  A p-electrode 110 is provided in contact with the p-AlGaInN contact layer 108, and an insulating film 109 is provided below the p-electrode 110 except for the ridge 111 portion. Thus, the nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 has a so-called ridge stripe structure. Furthermore, an n-electrode 112 is formed on the back side of the nitride semiconductor laser bar 100.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the nitride semiconductor laser bar as seen from the lateral direction of the cavity length. Adhesion layer 115 made of hexagonal crystals is formed on resonator end face 113, end face coat film 116 is laminated on the surface of adhesion layer 115, and end face coat film 117 is laminated on resonator end face 114. The adhesion layer 115 can be selected from ZnO, AlN, GaN, BN, and the like.

The cleaved surface of the nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 becomes the resonator end surfaces 113 and 114. As a manufacturing method, the nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 is fixed to a holder and introduced into an ECR sputtering apparatus. Surface treatment of the front end face 113 of the resonator is performed by ECR sputtering of Ar to remove surface adsorbed moisture and oxides such as a natural oxide film. This surface treatment may be performed with an inert gas such as He, Ne, Kr, Xe or nitrogen gas in addition to Ar. Subsequently, ZnO (adhesion layer 115) having a thickness of 10 nm and single-layer Al ₂ O ₃ (end surface coating film 116) are sequentially formed on the surface of the cavity end face 113 by ECR sputtering. The thickness of the single layer Al ₂ O ₃ is set in the vicinity of 3λ / 4n or λ / 4n (λ: oscillation wavelength, n: refractive index) so that the reflectance is 5%.

Next, surface treatment of the resonator end surface 114 on the back surface is performed by Ar ECR sputtering to remove adsorbed moisture and oxide on the surface. Subsequently, an end face coating film 117 is formed on the surface of the resonator end face 114 by ECR sputtering. The end face coating film 117 is composed of a total of eight layers of four periods of Al ₂ O ₃ / TiO ₂ as one period, and the thickness of each layer is set to λ / 4n so that the reflectance is 95%. ing. In the multilayer film, the first layer (resonator end face 114 side) is Al ₂ O ₃ .

  The nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 was divided into nitride semiconductor laser element chips, packaged, and subjected to a life test. FIG. 3 shows data of a life test of the nitride semiconductor laser device. The test conditions were a pulse current drive with a constant peak light output of 120 mW under a package temperature of 60 ° C. The measurement results for 7 samples are shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the increase in drive current during energization decreased and the MTTF (Mean Time To Failure) was about 5000 hours (500, predicted from an increase in drive current of 1000 hours). And there was no yield deterioration due to end face leakage current. In addition, there was no sudden increase in drive current during energization.

  On the other hand, the MTTF of the laser element provided with the conventional metal adhesion layer was about 3000 hours, and the yield deterioration due to the end face leakage current was 50% of 5 out of 10 input elements. The laser element in which the end face leakage current is generated has an operating current already large as an initial characteristic regardless of the presence or absence of aging. Also, the cause of the deterioration of MTTF is a phenomenon in which the drive current value suddenly increases suddenly during driving. This is due to light absorption at the resonator end face, peeling of the film, and end face caused by alteration. This is accompanied by destructive deterioration of When a conventional metal layer is used for the adhesion layer, although the adhesion layer is very thin, the light absorption causes such deterioration. However, according to the present invention, the light absorption of the adhesion layer 115 is caused. In addition, since the adhesion between the resonator end face 113 and the end face coating film 116 through the adhesion layer 115 is excellent, and the quality of the adhesion layer 115 itself is excellent, such a phenomenon is prevented. The

  FIG. 4 is a side view of another nitride semiconductor laser bar as seen from the lateral direction of the cavity length. An adhesion layer 115 made of hexagonal crystals on the resonator end face 113, an end face coating film 116 on the surface of the adhesion layer 115, an adhesion layer 118 made of hexagonal crystals on the cavity end face 114, and an end face coating film on the surface of the adhesion layer 118. 117 is laminated.

As a manufacturing method, the nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 is fixed to a holder and introduced into an ECR sputtering apparatus. Surface treatment of the front end face 113 of the resonator is performed by ECR sputtering of Ar, and adsorbed moisture and oxide on the surface are removed. Subsequently, GaN (adhesion layer 115) having a thickness of 20 nm and single-layer SiO ₂ (end face coating film 116) are sequentially formed on the surface of the resonator end face 113 by ECR sputtering. The thickness of the single layer SiO ₂ is set in the vicinity of 3λ / 4n (λ: oscillation wavelength, n: refractive index) so that the reflectance is 5%.

Next, surface treatment of the resonator end surface 114 on the back surface is performed by Ar ECR sputtering to remove adsorbed moisture and oxide on the surface. Subsequently, GaN (adhesion layer 118) having a thickness of 20 nm and an end face coat film 117 are formed on the surface of the resonator end face 114 by ECR sputtering. Facet coating film 117 is 4 cycles of the SiO ₂ / TiO ₂ as one cycle, a multilayer film of a total of 8 layers, thickness of each layer so that the reflectance is 95% is set to lambda / 4n .

  The nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 was divided into nitride semiconductor laser element chips, packaged, and subjected to a life test under the same conditions as described above (measurement data omitted). Also in this case, there was no sudden increase in drive current during energization.

  In the present embodiment, the adhesion layers 115 and 118 may be hexagonal crystals such as ZnO, AlN, GaN, and BN, which are transparent semiconductors. The conventional adhesion layer is a metal layer. In this case, the end face coat film is bonded to the adhesion layer by an intermolecular force which is a weak bonding force, but is the same crystal system as the AlGaInN semiconductor forming the nitride semiconductor layer. By using hexagonal crystals for the adhesion layers 115 and 118, the adhesion layers 115 and 118 are firmly bonded to the end face coat films 116 and 117 and the resonator end faces 113 and 114. Therefore, the end face coat films 116 and 117 are firmly attached to the resonator end faces 113 and 114 via the adhesion layers 115 and 118 while suppressing current leakage and light absorption that are generated when the metal layer is used for the adhesion layer. It can be adhered.

  It can be confirmed by observation with a TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope) that the adhesion layers 115 and 118 are hexagonal crystals. In the adhesion layers 115 and 118 of the present invention, a hexagonal diffraction pattern is detected when the diffraction pattern of the observed image is viewed. When the adhesion layers 115 and 118 are not hexagonal, for example, if the part of the adhesion layers 115 and 118 that are in contact with the resonator end faces 113 and 114 is amorphous, sufficient bonding with the resonator end faces 113 and 114 can be obtained. Therefore, film peeling failure may occur.

  In the present invention, it is important that the adhesion layers 115 and 118 are hexagonal crystals. However, simply depositing ZnO, AlN, GaN, BN, or the like on the resonator end faces 113 and 114 is as thin as 20 nm or less. In terms of film thickness, it is difficult to obtain hexagonal crystals. In order to obtain a hexagonal crystal, impurities such as a natural oxide film and moisture are removed by plasma irradiation to the resonator end faces 113 and 114 as described above immediately before the formation of the adhesion layers 115 and 118, thereby forming a hexagonal crystal. It is effective to completely expose the nitride semiconductor layer. In addition, heat treatment after film formation is effective for obtaining hexagonal crystals.

Further, for the end face coat films 116 and 117, a compound containing a composition element common to the stacked adhesion layers 115 and 118 can be used. For example, the adhesion layers 115 and 118 containing oxygen such as ZnO are made of an oxide containing Al, Si, Ti, Hf, Nb, Ta, Zr or the like, and the adhesion layers 115 and 118 containing nitrogen such as AlN, GaN, or BN. A nitride containing Si or the like can be used. When oxygen is common like ZnO and Al ₂ O ₃ , mutual diffusion of Zn and Al occurs in the interface number atomic layer, and Zn _x Al _y O (x <1, y <1, x + y = 1) Is generated, and the adhesion layers 115 and 118 and the end face coating films 116 and 117 are more firmly adhered to each other.

  Further, the end face coat films 116 and 117 may have a multilayer structure of the above oxides or nitrides. The end face coating films 116 and 117 may have a multilayer structure of Si nitride and oxide.

  The adhesion layers 115 and 118 may be provided at least between the light emitting end face of the resonator and the end face coat films 116 and 117. Further, if the thickness of the adhesion layers 115 and 118 is 20 nm or less, a good film can be produced without causing cracks. In addition to the ECR sputtering method as described above, the adhesion layers 115 and 118 may use a plasma CVD method or a magnetron sputtering method. In general, hexagonal crystals such as ZnO, AlN, GaN, and BN are grown at a high temperature of 400 ° C. or higher using the MOCVD method, but they are grown at room temperature by the magnetron sputtering method or the ECR sputtering method, and at 200 ° C. or lower by the plasma CVD method. Is possible. Therefore, the adhesion layers 115 and 118 can be formed without degrading the active layer 105.

  Next, the case where the adhesion layer 115 is hexagonal AlN in the present embodiment will be described in more detail.

In the nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 having the structure of FIG. 1, 6 nm hexagonal Al nitride (AlN) is formed as the adhesion layer 115 on the front resonator end surface 113 and the rear resonator end surface 114. A 76 nm Al oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is formed as the end face coating film 116.

Since the adhesion layer 115 and the end face coat film 116 have Al as a common composition element, interdiffusion of N and O occurs in the atomic layer of the interface between the end face coat film 116 and the adhesion layer 115, and AlN _x O _y (x <1, y <1, x + y = 1). By forming this AlN _x O _y , the adhesion between the adhesion layer 115 and the end face coating film 116 becomes better. As a method of forming the adhesion layer 115 and the end face coating film 116, if reactive sputtering using Al as a target, for example, ECR sputtering, is used, the gas can be switched from nitrogen to oxygen. Without taking out from the ECR sputtering apparatus, the adhesion layer 115 and the end face coating film 116 can be continuously formed without being exposed to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the formation of a natural oxide film or the adhesion of impurities in the air on the surface of the adhesion layer 115 before the end face coating film 116 is formed. The adhesion between the end face 113 and the end face coat film 116 is also improved.

If the AlN layer thickness of the adhesion layer 115 is 1 nm or less, the thickness is insufficient, and the function of improving the adhesion between the end face coat film 116 and the resonator end face 113 may not be achieved. On the other hand, if it is 20 nm or more, cracks and film peeling due to stress occur. Therefore, the AlN layer thickness of the adhesion layer 115 is preferably 1 nm or more and 20 nm or less. The film thickness of Al ₂ O ₃ which is the front end coat film 116 is set so that the reflectance is 5%. In this case, it is a nitride-based semiconductor laser element, and the oscillation wavelength of the laser light is around λ = 400 nm. In addition, since the refractive index n of aluminum oxide is 1.6, λ / 4n = 62.5 nm. Therefore, by setting the thickness to about 70 nm, a low reflectance of 5% can be realized. The back end coat film 117 is composed of a total of 8 multilayer films corresponding to four periods of Al ₂ O ₃ / TiO ₂ as in the above case, and each layer has a reflectance of 95%. Is set to λ / 4n.

  The nitride semiconductor laser bar 100 in which the adhesion layer 115 is hexagonal AlN was divided to produce a nitride semiconductor laser element. Of these, four nitride semiconductor laser elements were subjected to a life test at 70 ° C. and 100 mW (CW; Continuous Wave). The result is shown in FIG. In all four elements, there is no sudden increase in drive current during the life test due to destructive deterioration of the resonator end face, and the expected time required to be 1.4 times the initial drive current value (300 hours) 4 elements averaged 1984 hours (each element: 1007 hours, 2840 hours, 1470 hours, 2620 hours), and good characteristics were obtained.

On the other hand, three nitride semiconductor laser elements (adhesion layer: 3 nm of Al, end face coating film: 80 nm of Al ₂ O ₃ ) using a conventional metal layer as an adhesion layer of 70 ° C. and 100 mW (CW). The life test results are shown in FIG. Of the three elements, a sudden death occurred in two of the elements within 300 hours. Even for one element that is not dead, the increase in drive current is larger than that of the nitride semiconductor laser of the present embodiment, and the expected time (300 hours) required to be 1.4 times the initial drive current value. And calculated from an increase rate of 400 hours) is as short as 423 hours.

As described above, the nitride semiconductor laser device using AlN as the adhesion layer 115 and Al ₂ O ₃ as the end face coating film 116 is greatly improved in the life test result as compared with the case where the conventional metal layer is used as the adhesion layer. It was observed.

  In this embodiment, the nitride semiconductor end face formed by cleavage is described in detail. However, the end face is formed by vapor etching such as RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) ICP or wet etching using a solution such as KOH (potassium hydroxide). Even if it is formed (etched mirror), the present invention can be applied without any problem.

  The nitride semiconductor light emitting device of the present invention is integrated with a nitride semiconductor laser device such as a single semiconductor laser device, a hologram laser device having a hologram element, and an IC chip for processing such as driving or signal detection. The present invention can be applied to an optoelectronic IC device, a waveguide, or a composite optical device packaged integrally with a micro optical element. Further, the present invention can be applied to an optical recording system, an optical disc system, a light source system in the ultraviolet to green region, etc. provided with these devices.

100 Nitride semiconductor laser bar 113, 114 Cavity end face 115, 118 Adhesion layer 116, 117 End face coating film

Claims (5)

Nitride semiconductor layer, electrode formed on nitride semiconductor layer, resonator formed on nitride semiconductor layer, adhesion layer formed on end face of resonator, and formed on adhesion layer In the nitride semiconductor laser device provided with the end face coating film formed,
The adhesion layer and the nitride semiconductor layer are composed of hexagonal crystals,
The nitride semiconductor laser device, wherein the end face coat film contains a composition element common to the adhesion layer.   The nitride semiconductor laser element according to claim 1, wherein the adhesion layer is AlN.   The nitride semiconductor laser element according to claim 1, wherein the end face coat film contains an oxide.   3. The nitride semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein the end face coating film is a single layer of Si nitride or a multilayer structure of Si nitride and oxide.   5. The nitride semiconductor laser device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesion layer is formed at a temperature of room temperature to 200 ° C. 5.

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