Radiation-emitting semiconductor device and method of manufacturing such a semiconductor device.

摘要

Radiation-emitting semiconductor diodes in the form of a laser diode or an LED form important components in information processing systems. There is a particular demand for diodes emitting in the visible range of the spectrum and having a high admissible operating temperature. A radiation-emitting diode comprising a semiconductor body with a semiconductor substrate on which a lower cladding layer, an active layer, and an upper cladding layer are present, the active layer and the two cladding layers each comprising different semiconductor materials which form a mixed crystal, partly fulfill the above requirements. According to the invention, such a diode is characterized in that the mixed crystal of the active layer is more strongly ordered than that of the two cladding layers. This makes the difference in bandgap between these layers greater than in the known diode. The diode thus has a comparatively high To value and accordingly a high maximum operating temperature. The invention also relates to a method of manfuacturing such a diode. In this method, a difference in the degree of ordering between the active layer and the cladding layers is achieved through a change in the growing temperature or in the ratio of the quantities of the offered elements during providing of the semiconductor layers. Thus diodes - for example in the InGaP/InAlGaP material system - with the required characteristics are obtained. <IMAGE>