Optoelectronic component, in particular a laser diode or a light-emitting diode

摘要

A laser diode or a light-emitting diode has a semiconductor crystal doped with lanthanides (4f ions). As a result of doping InP, GaAs, GaP, Si and Ge with lanthanides, incoherent radiation can be produced in the case of a light-emitting diode and coherent radiation in the case of a laser diode. The wavelength of this radiation is longer than the energy gap of the host crystal and is primarily determined by the 4f ion (lanthanide) and not by the energy gap of the semiconductor. Doping with erbium yields an emission wavelength of 1.54 mu m for the semiconductor component and this corresponds approximately with the minimum attenuation wavelength of a glass fibre such as those used in glass-fibre communication. <IMAGE>