Selective oxidation of buried AlGaAs versus AlAs layers
- Photonics Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)
- Department of Materials Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 (United States)
We report significant differences between the properties of buried oxides converted from AlGaAs and AlAs layers using selective wet oxidation. Layers of Al{sub {ital x}}Ga{sub 1{minus}{ital x}}As with {ital x}{ge}0.96 exhibit crystallographic dependent oxidation rates, while for layers with {ital x}{le}0.92 the oxidation rate is isotropic. Mesas containing partially oxidized layers of AlAs are unstable to rapid thermal cycling and exhibit excessive strain at the oxide terminus, while mesas containing partially oxidized layers of AlGaAs are robust and lack evidence of strain. Finally, the oxidation of AlGaAs layers, rather than AlAs, is found to provide robust oxide apertures for reliable vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 286891
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 69; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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