A method of passivating etched mirror facets of semiconductor lasers.

摘要

A method of passivating etched mirror facets of semiconductor laser diodes for enhancing device reliability. The etched mirror facet is first subjected to a wet-etch process to substantially remove any native oxide as well as any surface layer which may have been mechanically damaged during the preceding mirror etch process. Then, a passivation pre-treatment is applied whereby any residual oxygen is removed and a sub-monolayer is formed which permanently reduces the non-radiative recombination of minority carriers at the mirror facet. Finally, the pre-treated mirror surface is coated with a passivation layer to avoid any environmental effect on the mirror.