摘要 |
A semiconductor light-emitting device has, in place of a traditional separate cladding layer and contact structure, a non-epitaxial contact and waveguide layer. The non-epitaxial contact and waveguide layer is formed of a conductive material and such that it has a recess therein and over the injection region. Air filling the region together with appropriate choice of material for the non-epitaxial contact and waveguide layer creates desired lateral waveguiding. Metallic silver in one choice for this material. The recess may also be filled with a low-loss material having a refractive index higher than that of the material forming the non-epitaxial contact and waveguide layer. Transparent conductive oxides (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO), etc.), appropriate metal (e.g., gold), or a composite comprising a conductive oxide and a metal, provide low absorption in the UV and near-IR wavelengths of interest, and are thus good candidate materials for within the recess.
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