GEOMETRY DEPENDENT DOPING AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES PRODUCED THEREBY

摘要

The method and product of laterally defining semiconductor structures using geometry depending doping. A compound semiconductor substrate, for example, InP or GaAs, is formed with a groove in a predetermined direction. One or more epitaxial layers are deposited on both the grooved portion and the planar portions of the substrate and include both n-type and p-type dopants. The incorporation rates of the dopants into the deposited layers depend upon the crystalline orientation of the planar surface or the sidewalls of the groove. Thereby, the planar portion may be formed of one conductivity type and the groove with the other. The invention is particularly useful for defining the current structure in a semiconductor laser.