Commercial Methods for Production of Orientation Patterned GaAs

The Air Force desires development of a commercial production source for nonlinear optical (NLO) gallium arsenide semiconductor crystals with orientation patterning, i.e., OP-GaAs. The Phase I project has demonstrated feasibility for a fabrication method of OP-GaAs which exclusively utilizes processes anticipated to be available from commercial vendors and at Physical Sciences Inc (PSI). Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), wafer bond-etch-and-pattern methods, and hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) are employed. Phase II will refine the fabrication steps toward both those methods known to be available from vendors, and toward OP-GaAs material that performs well within QPM assemblies of OPO for MWIR generation. The program team of Phase I brings together experts in the many technical areas required, and this distinguished team is proposed for the Phase II program. University of Massachusetts, Lowell, will provide processing and wafer bonding development. AFRL, Hanscom AFB, will collaborate with HVPE and a letter of support is included. PSI is a major player in the markets for ferroelectric NLO materials and devices as well in high-power IR laser-based systems and NLO converters. Thus, PSI is well placed to insert the OP-GaAs materials into laser systems with key market demand.