Patent ID: 6920167
Filing Date: 2005-07-19
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. In a method for fabricating a semiconductor laser device having on a compound semiconductor substrate at least a lower cladding layer, an active layer, an upper cladding layer and a contact layer; an upper part of the upper cladding layer and the contact layer being formed as a mesa structured portion having a ridge stripe pattern, and the both side of the mesa structured portion being buried with a current blocking layer, the method comprising steps of: forming a stacked structure on a compound semiconductor substrate by epitaxially growing thereon a lower cladding layer, an active layer, an upper cladding layer and a contact layer in this order, forming an insulating film on the entire surface of the substrate including the wall plane of a pit-like recess penetrating the current blocking layer and extending towards the compound semiconductor substrate, forming a photoresist film on the entire surface of the substrate, patterning the photoresist film to form a resist mask on the insulating film as well as to fill the pit-like recess with the photoresist film, etching the insulating film using the resist mask as an etching mask to form an insulating film mask, and then etching the contact layer and the upper cladding layer using the insulating film mask as an etching mask to form a mesa-structured portion having a ridge stripe pattern, selectively growing, using the insulating film mask as a mask, a current blocking layer thereby to bury the both sides of the mesa-structured portion, and removing the insulating film mask to expose the contact layer, and then forming an electrode layer on the surface of the substrate including on the contact layer.