GAN UV/BLUE SOLID STATE LASER

Efficient blue and UV lasers are key to high density optical storage, novel communication systems, industrial and medical lasers, and specialized spectroscopic tools. By virtue of their direct bandgap (ranging from 2.09eV-InN to 3.44eV-GaN to 6.2eV-AlN) and lattice-matched heterostructure system, the III-V nitride-based semiconductors have the greatest potential to enable devices that will meet the application requirements. Plagued by a dearth of lattice matched substrates, epitaxial nitride thin films have not achieved their intrinsic potential because of non-radiative defects that propagate from the substrate/epi interface. We propose the use of silicon carbide (SiC) substrates for the epitaxial growth of a III-V nitride vertical cavity laser. SiC is closely lattice-matched to the III-V nitrides, has comparable thermal expansion coefficients and is blessed with a large thermal conductivity. The vertical cavity laser incorporates a unique structure to further reduce defects and to increase device efficiency.