Development of Visible Diode Lasers by Using I-III-VI2 Semiconductor

The proposed Phase 1 approach utilizes a material system, the I-III-VI2 compounds, for which some early success in the fabrication of laser devices and LEDs has been achieved in Japan. The benefits to this material include: ease in forming p-n junction, greater thermal conductivity, higher bond strength in the crystal, less thermal stresses and ease in making metal contacts. The proposed effort involves the fabrication of one or two visible diode laser prototypes from this material system, with subsequent testing and evaluation. The proposed visible diode lasers to be fabricated under this effort will be grown on commercially-available p-GaAs or p-GaP substrates. Testing of these devices will be aimed primarily at determining their electronic and performance characteristics.