RADIATION-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SUCH A DIODE

摘要

The invention relates to a radiation-emitting semiconductor diode, in particular a laser diode, whose active layer (3) comprises a II-V mixed crystal in which various elements, for example III elements, may be present in orderly or disorderly arrangement. Such a mixed crystal is InGaP whose emission lies below 1 mu m. In the known diode, catastrophic optical degradation is suppressed in that the active layer (3) has an orderly distribution in the active region (3A) and a disorderly distribution of the elements in a passive region (3B) situated near an exit surface (51). The known diode has a low efficiency and a high starting current. In a diode according to the invention, the distribution of the different elements is disorderly in the active region (3A), while the passive region (3B) is formed through local intermixing of the active layer (3). Such a diode surprisingly has a high efficiency and a low starting current, shows very little propensity to said degradation, and is in addition very easy to manufacture. The invention accordingly also relates to a method of manufacturing such a diode. Said disorderly distribution is realized, for example, through a high growing temperature, while said intermixing is achieved through local diffusion of, for example, Zn or Si. Intermixing may take place during or after the manufacture of the semiconductor layers.