Semiconductor laser

Abstract: According to this invention, in a semiconductor laser, an n-type InGaAℓP cladding layer (11), an InGaP active layer (12), and a p-type InGaAℓP cladding layer (13) are sequentially grown on an n-type GaAs substrate (10) to form a double hetero structure. The active layer (12) is constituted by an ordered structure having regularity in the <111> directions, and the p-type cladding layer (13) is constituted by a disordered structure. Band discontinuity in conduction band between the active layer (12) and the p-type cladding layer (13) is increased to improve the temperature characteristics of the laser.

Description: The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser using Group V-III compound semiconductor materials and, more particularly, to a semiconductor laser using InGaAℓP materials in a double hetero structure. In recent years, an InGaAℓP red laser having an oscillation wavelength in a 0.6-µm band has been commercially available, and it has been expected that the red laser is widely applied as a light source for an optical disk apparatus, a laser beam printer, or the like. A decrease in oscillation threshold value of a semiconductor laser and an improvement of temperature characteristics are very important in consideration of an increase in service life. The threshold value of laser oscillation and the temperature characteristics depend on enclosure of carriers in an active layer, especially, leakage of electrons having a small effective mass to a p-type cladding layer is necessarily suppressed. In a conventional GaAℓAs semiconductor laser, band discontinuity between the conduction band of an active layer and that of a p-type cladding layer can be sufficiently increased. Since this discontinuity effectively prevents leakage of electrons from the active layer to the p-type cladding layer, an increase in oscillation threshold value is not a serious problem in the GaAℓAs semiconductor laser. However, the InGaAℓP materials have characteristics in which discontinuity of the conduction bands is smaller than that of the conventional GaAℓAs materials. Therefore, leakage of electrons to the p-type cladding layer have not been sufficiently prevented by the band discontinuity, and it has been understood that effective enclosure of carriers is not easily obtained in the InGaAℓP-based materials. Conventionally, in a laser using the InGaAℓP semi-conductor materials, band discontinuity between an active layer and a p-type cladding layer cannot be sufficiently increased, carriers cannot be easily enclosed in the active layer, and the temperature characteristics of the laser cannot be easily improved. Here it can be noted that EP-A-O 458 408 (a reference within the ambit of Art. 54(3) EPC) discloses an InGaP/InAlGaP system diode with ordered structures in both the active and cladding layers. A semiconductor device without mixed ordered/disordered structures but with an enhanced band gap for the cladding layer is disclosed in Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Extended abstracts (22 Conf. Solid State Devices & Materials) 1990, pp 565-568 SPIE Proc. Optical Data Storage Topical Mtg. vol. 1078, 1989, pp 60-90 describes another device with an ordered structure in the active layer. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a semiconductor laser capable of increasing band discontinuity between an active layer and a p-type cladding layer to improve temperature characteristics of the laser. According to the gist of the present invention as defined in claim 1, in an InGaAℓP visible light semiconductor laser, formation of ordered structures in an active layer and a p-type cladding layer is controlled to increase band discontinuity between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer. According to the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor laser comprising an active layer made of a semiconductor represented by In 1-y (Ga 1-x Al x ) y P where 0 ≤ x < 1, and 0 < y < 1 ; a first cladding layer arranged on the negative polarity side of said active layer, and made of a semiconductor of an n-conductivity type represented by InGaAlP and heterogeneous from said semiconductor of said active layer; a second cladding layer arranged on the positive polarity side of said active layer, and made of a semiconductor of a p-conductivity type represented by InGaAlP and heterogeneous from said semiconductor of said active layer; a first contact layer arranged on the negative polarity side of said first cladding layer, and made of a semiconductor of the n-conductivity type represented by GaAs; a second contact layer arranged on the positive polarity side of said second cladding layer, and made of a semiconductor of the p-conductivity type represented by GaAs; and a current blocking layer arranged on the positive polarity side of said second cladding layer so as to define a current path between said second cladding layer and said second contact layer, and made of a semiconductor of the n-conductivity type represented by GaAs; wherein said semiconductor of said active layer is constituted by an ordered structure, in which the Group III atoms are arranged with regularity in the <111> direction, having two lattice constants a and 2a in the <111> direction, said semiconductor of said second cladding layer is constituted by a disordered structure, in which the group III atoms are arranged at random, having the lattice constant a in the <111> direction, whereby the band discontinuity at the interface of said active layer and said cladding layer is larger than if the Group III atoms of said active layer were disordered, for reducing leakage of electrons from said active layer to said second cladding layer, and in that an intermediate bandgap layer is arranged between said second cladding layer and said second contact layer, and made of a semiconductor of the p-conductivity type represented by InGaP. In an InGaAℓP materials grown by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition method (MOCVD method) or the like, it is known that an arrangement of Group III atoms have regularity by changing growth conditions such as a growth temperature and a ratio of molar flow rate of group-V to group-III sources (V/III) ratio) (for example, J. Crystal Growth 93 (1988) P. 406). This regularity is generally called an ordered structure or a natural superlattice. The InGaAℓP materials have a zinc blend structure, Group III atoms (In, Ga, Aℓ) are generally arranged at random in group-III sublattices (this is called a disordered structure in contrast to the ordered structure). In this case, the period of a lattice in the <111> orientation, i.e., a lattice constant, depends on the periods of Group III atoms and Group V atoms and has one value a . In contract to this, the ordered structure has a structure in which an In rich surface and a Ga (of Aℓ) rich surface are formed in four directions (< 1 11>, <1 1 1>, <11 1 >, < 1 1 1 >), independent of a substrate orientation. The relationship between these four directions are shown in Fig. 2. The < 1 11> direction is perpendicular to ( 1 11) surface. This structure is defined as an ordered structure of the <111> direction. The ordered structure is not formed in all crystal grains but present as a domain. In this case, the period of the lattice constant, depends on the regularity of arrangement of Group III atoms and has two values a and 2 a . When the ordered structure is formed, the band-gap energy (Eg) of a material is changed. When the ordered structure is formed in an InGaAℓP material, the Eg is smaller than that of an InGaAℓP material in which the ordered structure is not formed. According to the present invention, on the basis of the above situation, an ordered structure is formed in an active layer, and no ordered structure is formed in a p-type cladding layer, such that band discontinuity between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer is increased. In addition, growth conditions under which the active layer and the p-type cladding layer are grown are changed to control the formation of the ordered structure. According to an experiment performed by the present inventors, when an InGaAℓP material was used as an active layer, the Eg of the active layer was 1.91 eV when no ordered structure was formed in the active layer. Within a range of the growth conditions under which the experiment was performed, in an InGaAℓP material in which an ordered structure of the <111> direction was formed, the smallest Eg was 1.85 eV. In addition, when no ordered structure was formed in an In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P layer used as a p-type cladding layer, an Eg of the layer was 2.33 eV. The smallest Eg of the layer was 2.33 eV when the In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P layer had an ordered structure of the <111> direction. That is, a difference in band-gap energy Eg between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer, both of which have no ordered structure, is 0.42 eV. In contrast to this, a difference in band-gap energy Eg between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer, both of which have ordered structures of the <111> direction is about 0.38 to 0.40 eV. In this case, band discontinuity in conduction band effectively functions to prevent leakage of electrons from the active layer to the p-type cladding layer, i.e., to enclose carriers. In this specification, however, the difference in band-gap energy Eg between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer is used as an evaluation standard of the band discontinuity for convenience. When an InGaP layer having an ordered structure of the <111> direction and an Eg of 1.85 eV is used as an active layer, and an In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P (Eg = 2.33 eV) layer having no ordered structure of the <111> direction is used as p-type cladding layer, an Eg difference between these layers is increased to, i.e., 0.48 eV. This value is larger by 60 mev than that between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer both of which have no ordered structure. This difference is very effective to enclose electrons in the active layer and largely influences the improvement of temperature characteristics of a semiconductor laser. In fact, it was confirmed by an experiment that a maximum continuous oscillation temperature was increased by 40°C or more. According to the present invention, since the band discontinuity between the active layer and the p-type cladding layer can be increased, and carriers can be effectively enclosed in the active layer, a reduction of the threshold value of a laser and an improvement of temperature characteristics can be expected. As described above, according to the present invention, an ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed in the active layer, and no ordered structure is formed in the p-type cladding layer, such that band discontinuity between the p-type cladding layer and the active layer can be increased. Therefore, overflow of electrons can be effectively suppressed, and a semiconductor laser having preferable temperature characteristics can be obtained. This invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of an arrangement of a semiconductor laser useful for understanding the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing an arrangement of the main part of the example in Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a V/III ratio and a band-gap energy in an active layer; Fig. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a carrier concentration and a band-gap energy in a p-type cladding layer; Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a semiconductor laser according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a growth rate and a band-gap energy in an active layer; Fig. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between a growth rate and a band-gap energy in a p-type cladding layer; Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a modification of the first embodiment; Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing a further example of a schematic structure of a semiconductor laser useful for understanding the present invention. Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a semiconductor laser according to the second embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing a further example of a structure of a semiconductor laser useful for understanding the present invention; and Fig. 12 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a semiconductor laser according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a structure of an InGaAℓP semiconductor laser useful for understanding the present invention. Referring to Fig. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an n-type GaAs substrate. On the substrate 10, an n-type In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P cladding layer 11 (carrier concentration: 4 × 10 17 cm -3 ; thickness: 1.2 µm), an In 0.5 Ga 0.5 P active layer 12 (undoped; thickness: 0.02 µm), and a p-type In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P cladding layer 13 (carrier concentration: 8 × 10 17 cm -3 ; thickness: 1.2 µm) are sequentially formed. In this case, the substrate 10 has the (100) plane as shown in Fig. 2, an ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed in the active layer 12, and no ordered structure is formed in the p-type cladding layer 13. The substrate 10 does not necessarily have the (100) plane, and the substrate 10 may have a plane which is slightly inclined from the (100) plane by, e.g., 5°. The p-type cladding layer 13 is etched halfway to form a stripe-like ridge portion. This ridge portion has a bottom width of 5 µm, and the distance between the bottom of the ridge portion and the active layer 12 is 0.3 µm. N-type GaAs current blocking layers 14 (carrier concentration: 2 × 10 18 cm -3 ; thickness: 1 µm) are grown and formed on side surfaces of the ridge portion, and a p-type GaAs contact layer 15 (carrier concentration: 2 × 10 18 cm -3 ; thickness: 3 µm) is formed on the upper surfaces of the ridge portion and the current blocking layers 14. An n-side electrode 16 is formed on the lower surface of the substrate 10, and a p-side electrode 17 is formed on the contact layer 15. The structure shown in Fig. 1 is grown by a low-pressure MOCVD method. According to an experiment performed by the present inventors, the following relationship was found between a band-gap energy and growth conditions under which the active layer 12 and the p-type cladding layer 13 were grown. Fig. 3 shows a relationship between a V/III ratio (a ratio of molar flow rate of PH 3 to group-III sources when the active layer 12 is grown) and a band-gap energy Eg of the active layer 12. Growth temperatures (Tg) were set at 690°C, 730°C, and 750°C. Even when any growth temperature (Tg) is set, when the V/III ratio is 200 or more, the band-gap energy Eg is sharply decreased. This is because an ordered structure of the <111> direction is easily formed when the V/III ratio is 200 or more. In addition, the Eg is increased in accordance with an increase in growth temperature because an ordered structure is not easily formed at a high growth temperature. Although no ordered structure was formed in an InGaP layer having an Eg of 1.91 eV or more, ordered structures were formed in other InGaP layers. In an InGaP layer which was grown at a Tg of 690°C and a V/III ratio of 200 or more, an ordered structure was formed most strongly. At this time, an Eg of 1.85 eV was obtained. Fig. 4 shows a relationship between a carrier concentration and a band-gap energy Eg of the p-type cladding layer 13. At any growth temperature Tg, the Eg was increased in accordance with an increase in carrier concentration, and the Eg had a constant value, i.e., 2.33 eV, when the carrier concentration was 7 × 10 17 cm -3 or more. Although no ordered structure was formed in a sample having an Eg of 2.33 eV, an ordered structure could be detected in other samples. This is because a p-type dopant has an effect to prevent the formation of an ordered structure in accordance with an increase in carrier concentration. According to the above fact, growth conditions under which the laser shown in Fig. 1 was grown was defined as follows. That is, a growth temperature was set at 690°C, a V/III ratio was set to be 400, and a doping concentration of the p-type cladding layer 13 was set to be 8 × 10 17 cm -3 . At this time, the band-gap energies of the active layer 12 and the p-type cladding layer 13 were 1.85 eV and 2.33 eV, respectively. Although an ordered structure of the <111> direction was formed in the active layer 12, no ordered structure was formed in the p-type cladding layer 13, such that an Eg difference between these layers was 0.48 eV. When a stripe width and a resonator length were set to be 5 µm and 400 µm, respectively, an oscillation threshold value was 35 mA, and a maximum continuous oscillation temperature was 80°C. In addition, in a life test at a temperature of 50°C, the laser was not conspicuously degraded, and it was confirmed that the laser was operated for 2,000 hours. In contrast to this, when an active layer and a p-type cladding layer were grown under growth conditions such that ordered structures of the <111> direction were not formed in either of these layers, the band-gap energies of the layers were 1.91 eV and 2.33 eV, respectively, and the Eg difference was 0.42. At this time, a growth temperature was set at 750°C, a V/III ratio was set to be 100, and the carrier concentration of the p-type cladding layer was set to be 4 × 10 17 cm -3 . In a laser having a stripe width of 5 µm and a resonator length of 400 µm, a maximum continuous oscillation temperature was as low as 40°C, and life performance was not good. On the other hand, when an ordered structure of the <111> direction was formed in each of the active layer and the p-type cladding layer, band discontinuity was measured to be 0.38 to 0.40 eV. The maximum continuous oscillation temperature of a laser grown under the above growth conditions was as low as 30°C. Since an ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed in the active layer 12, and no ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed in the p-type cladding layer 13, band discontinuity between the active layer 12 and the p-type cladding layer 13 can be increased. For this reason, overflow of electrons can be effectively suppressed, and an InGaAℓP semiconductor laser having preferable temperature characteristics can be obtained. Therefore, the industrial effect of the semiconductor laser is extremely large. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a semiconductor laser according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 5, reference numeral 100 denotes an n-type GaAs substrate; 101, an n-type GaAs buffer layer; 102, an n-type In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P cladding layer; 103, an In 0.5 Ga 0.5 P active layer; 104, a p-type In0,5(Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P first cladding layer; 105, a p-type In 0.5 Ga 0.5 P etching stop layer; 106, a p-type In 0.5 (Ga 0.3 Aℓ 0.7 ) 0.5 P second cladding layer; 107, a p-type In 0.5 Ga 0.5 P cap layer; 108, an n-type GaAs current blocking layer; 109, a p-type GaAs contact layer; 110, an n-type electrode; and 111, a p-type electrode. An ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed in the active layer 103, and no ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed in the first p-type cladding layer 104. The structure shown in Fig. 5 is grown by a low-pressure MOCVD method, and formation of the ordered structure of the <111> direction is controlled by changing conditions for growing the active layer 103 and the first p-type cladding layer 104. Fig. 6 shows a relationship between a growth rate and a band-gap energy (Eg) in growing the active layer. Growth temperatures (Tg) were set at 690°C, 730°C, and 750°C, respectively. At any growth temperature, the Eg was sharply decreased when the growth rate becomes 3 µm/h or more, because an ordered structure of the <111> direction was easily formed when the growth rate becomes 3 µm/h or more. In addition, the Eg was increased in accordance with an increase in growth temperature because an ordered structure was not easily formed at a high growth temperature (Tg). In an InGaP layer having an Eg of 1.91 eV, no ordered structure was formed. In an InGaP layer which was grown at a growth temperature of 690°C and a growth rate of 3 µm/h or more, an ordered structure was formed most strongly. At this time, an Eg of 1.85 eV was obtained. Fig. 7 shows a relationship between a band-gap energy (Eg) and a growth rate in the p-type cladding layer. At any growth temperature, the Eg was increased in accordance with a decrease in growth rate, and the Eg had a constant value, i.e., 2.33 eV, at a growth rate of 1 µm/h or less. In a sample having an Eg of 2.33 eV, no ordered structure was formed. In other samples, an ordered structure was detected. When a growth rate was decreased, and the p-type cladding layer was grown thick, a p-type dopant was diffused in the active layer to degrade laser characteristics. However, when the p-type cladding layer having a low growth rate was grown to have a thickness of 0.5 µm to 0.8 µm, this problem could be solved. In addition, when the p-type cladding layer having a low growth rate was located at a position apart from the active layer by 0 to 40 nm, it was found that leakage of electrons from the active layer to the p-type cladding layer could be prevented so that an increase in operating current could be suppressed. For this reason, as shown in Fig. 8, a p-type cladding layer 112 having an ordered structure may be formed to have a thickness of 40 nm or less, and the p-type cladding layer 104 having no ordered structure may be formed thereon. When Zn, Mg, Cd, Be, or the like was used as the p-type dopant, the above effect could be obtained. The band-gap energies of the active layer 103 and the first p-type cladding layer 104 which were grown under the above growth conditions were 1.85 eV and 2.33 eV, respectively. An ordered structure of the <111> direction was formed in the active layer 103, and no ordered structure was formed in the first cladding layer 104, and an Eg difference between these layers was 0.48 eV. In an InGaAℓP semiconductor laser having the above structure in which the active layer 103 having a thickness of 0.3 µm, the first cladding layer 104 having a thickness of 0.3 µm, the second p-type cladding layer 106 having a ridge width of 5 µm, and a resonator length of 400 µm were used, an oscillation threshold value was 35 mA. At this time, a high light output of 40 mW was obtained at a temperature up to 80°C. In addition, in a life test performed at a temperature of 50°C and a light output of 30 mW, conspicuous degradation could not be detected in this semiconductor laser, and it was confirmed that the semiconductor laser was operated for 2,000 hours or more. For example, in a conventional method, when an active layer and a p-type cladding layer were grown under growth conditions that ordered structures of the <111> direction were not formed in either of the layers, the band-gap energies of the layers were 1.91 eV and 2.33 eV, respectively, and an Eg difference of the layers was 0.42 eV. In a laser having this structure, a maximum continuous oscillation temperature was as low as 40°C, and the life performance was no good. On the other hand, when ordered structures of the <111> direction were formed in both the active layer and the p-type cladding layer, an Eg difference was 0.38 to 0.40 eV. In a laser grown under the above growth conditions, a maximum continuous oscillation temperature was as low as 30°C. In this embodiment, although no ordered structure was formed in the first p-type cladding layer 104, an ordered structure of the <111> direction was formed in the second p-type cladding layer 106. In this case, the band-gap energy of the second p-type cladding layer 106 slightly depends on the oscillation threshold value of the laser. For this reason, even when the ordered structure is formed in the second p-type cladding layer 106, no problem occurs. Therefore, the second p-type cladding layer 106 was grown under growth conditions that the growth rate of the layer was increased, thereby suppressing diffusion of a p-type dopant in the active layer 103. In this embodiment, materials used for the parts are not limited to the above materials. The same effect as described above can be obtained even when the following structure is used. For example, the buffer layer 101 is made of n-type InGaP, the etching stop layer 105 is made of n-type InGaAℓP, p-type GaAℓAs, or p-type GaAs, the cap layer 107 is made of p-type InGaAℓP, p-type GaAℓAs, or p-type GaAs, the current blocking layer 108 is made of semi-insulating GaAs or n-type or semi-insulating GaAℓAs, the thickness of the first p-type cladding layer 104 is 0.1 µm to 0.4 µm, and the thickness of the active layer 103 is 0.015 µm to 0.03 µm. When the composition of the cladding layer is expressed as In 1-Y (Ga 1-X Aℓ X ) Y P, an Aℓ composition ratio X and a composition ratio Y are given as X = 0.7 and Y = 0.5 in the n- and p-type cladding layers. However, this Aℓ composition ratio is properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of each of the n- and p-type cladding layers are larger than that of the active layer 103. In addition, in the active layer 103, although an Aℓ composition ratio X and a composition ratio Y are set to be 0 and 0.5, respectively, the Aℓ composition ratio X and the composition ratio Y may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of the active layer 103 is smaller than that of the cladding layer. In the example shown in Fig. 9, reference numeral 200 denotes an n-type GaAs substrate; 201, an n-type GaAs buffer layer; 202, an n-type InGaAℓP cladding layer; 203, an InGaP active layer in which an ordered structure of the <111> direction is formed; 204, a p-type InGaAℓP first cladding layer in which no ordered structure is formed; 205, a p-type InGaP etching stop layer; 206, a p-type InGaAℓP second cladding layer; 207, a p-type InGaP intermediate band-gap layer; and 208, a p-type contact layer. When a current is injected into the laser arranged as described above, the injected current is squeezed into a ridge portion 209 formed by a p-p hetero barrier between the contact layer 208 and the p-type cladding layer 204. Although a light beam is generated in the active layer 203 substantially along the ridge portion 209 to cause laser oscillation, the beam is enclosed due to an effective refractive index difference between the ridge portion 209 and the outside of the ridge portion 209. In the above structure, the same effect as described in the example of fig. 1 can be obtained. Even if the arrangement in Fig. 9 is changed such that the buffer layer 201 is made of n-type InGaP, the active layer 203 is made of n-type InGaAℓP, the etching stop layer 205 is made of p-type GaAℓAs, and the intermediate band-gap layer 207 is made of p-type GaAℓAs or p-type GaAs, the same effect as described above can be obtained. In the cladding layers 202, 204, and 206 of this example , when the composition is expressed as In 1-Y (Ga 1-X Aℓ X ) Y P, an Aℓ composition ratio X is set to be 0.7. However, this Al composition ratio may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of each of the cladding layers 202, 204, and 206 is sufficiently larger than that of the active layer 203. In addition, in the active layer 203, although X = 0 and Y = 0.5, the composition ratios X and Y may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of the active layer 203 is smaller than that of each of the cladding layers. In the second embodiment shown in Fig. 10, reference numeral 300 denotes an n-type GaAs substrate; 301, an n-type GaAs or n-type InGaP buffer layer; 302, an n-type InGaAℓP cladding layer; 303, an InGaP or InGaAℓP active layer in which an ordered structure is formed; 304, a p-type InGaAℓP first cladding layer in which no ordered structure is formed; 305, a p-type InGaP buffer layer; 306, a p-type InGaAℓP second cladding layer; 307, a p-type InGaP or p-type AℓGaAs intermediate band-gap layer; 308, an n-type semi-insulating GaAs or n-type GaAℓAs current blocking layer; and 309, a p-type GaAs contact layer. When a current is injected into this laser arranged as described above, the injected current is squeezed by a stripe center portion 310 due to a p-n inversion layer formed by the current blocking layer 308. A light beam is generated in the active layer 303 substantially along this stripe portion to cause laser oscillation. In this structure, the same effect as described in the first embodiment can be obtained. In the cladding layers 302, 304, and 306 of this embodiment, when the composition is expressed as In 1-Y (Ga 1-X Aℓ X ) Y P, an Aℓ composition ratio X is set to be 0.7. However, this Aℓ composition ratio may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of each of the cladding layers 302, 304, and 306 is sufficiently larger than that of the active layer. In addition, in the active layer 303, an Aℓ composition ratio X and a composition ratio Y may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of the active layer 303 is smaller than that of each of the cladding layers. In the example shown in Fig. 11, reference numeral 400 denotes an n-type GaAs substrate; 401, an n-type GaAs or n-type InGaP buffer layer; 402, an n-type InGaAℓP cladding layer; 403, an InGaP or InGaAℓP active layer in which an ordered structure is formed; 404, a p-type InGaAℓP first cladding layer in which no ordered structure is formed; 405, a p-type InGaP or p-type GaAℓAs etching stop layer; 406, an n-type semi-insulating InGaAℓP or n-type AℓGaAs current blocking layer; 407, a p-type InGaAℓP or p-type GaAℓAs light guide layer; 408, a p-type InGaAℓP second cladding layer; 409, a p-type InGaP or p-type GaAℓAs intermediate band-gap layer; and 410, a p-type GaAs contact layer. When a current is injected into a laser arranged as described above, the injected current is squeezed by a stripe center portion 411 due to a p-n inversion layer formed by the current blocking layer 406. Although a light beam is generated in the active layer 403 substantially along this stripe portion 411 to cause laser oscillation, the beam leaking to the current blocking layer 406 is enclosed due to refractive index difference between the light guide layer 407 and the current blocking layer 406. In this structure, the same effect as described in the example of fig. 1 can be obtained. In the cladding layers 402, 404, and 408 of this example , when the composition is expressed as In 1-Y (Ga 1-X Aℓ X ) Y P, an Aℓ composition ratio X is set to be 0.7. However, this Aℓ composition ratio may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of each of the cladding layers 402, 404, and 408 is sufficiently larger than that of the active layer 403. In addition, the Aℓ composition ratio of the light guide layer 407 is not limited to X = 0.5, and it may be set to be smaller than that of the cladding layer and larger than that of the active layer 403. The Aℓ composition ratio of the current block layer 406 is not limited to X = 0.7, and it can be properly changed within a range in which an Aℓ composition ratio X larger than that of the active layer 403 can be obtained. Furthermore, the Aℓ composition ratio X and a composition ratio Y of the active layer 403 may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of the active layer 403 is smaller than that of each of the cladding layers and the light guide layer. In the third embodiment shown in Fig. 12, reference numeral 500 denotes an n-type GaAs substrate; 501, an n-type GaAs or n-type InGaP buffer layer; 502, an n-type InGaAℓP first cladding layer; 503, an n-type InGaAℓP second cladding layer; 504, an InGaP or InGaAℓP active layer in which an ordered structure is formed; 505, a p-type InGaAℓP third cladding layer in which no ordered structure is formed; 506, a p-type InGaAℓP or p-type GaAℓAs etching stop layer; 507, an n-type InGaAℓP fourth cladding layer; 508, a p-type InGaP or p-type GaAℓAs intermediate band-gap layer; and 509, an n-type GaAs or n-type GaAℓAs current blocking layer; and 510, a p-type GaAs contact layer. In the laser arranged as described above, when the band-gap energy of the second cladding layer 503 is set to be larger than that of the active layer 504 and smaller than that of the first cladding layer 502, the light density of in the active layer 504 can be reduced. In this structure, the same effect as described above can be obtained. When the composition is expressed as In 1-Y (Ga 1-X Aℓ X ) Y P, in each of the first, third, and fourth cladding layers, an Aℓ composition ratio X and a composition ratio Y are set to be 0.7 and 0.5, respectively. However, the Aℓ composition ratio X and the composition ration Y may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of each of the first, third, and fourth cladding layers is sufficiently larger than that of the active layer 504 and larger than that of the second cladding layer 503. In addition, the Aℓ composition ratio of the second cladding layer 503 is not limited to X = 0.6, and it may be set to be smaller than that of each of the first, third, and fourth cladding layers and larger than that of the active layer 504. The Aℓ composition ratio X and the composition ratio Y of the active layer 504 may be properly determined within a range in which the band-gap energy of the active layer 504 is smaller than that of each of the cladding layers. The present invention is not limited to the abovementioned embodiments. In the embodiments, Zn is used as a p-type dopant. However, when other dopants such as Mg and Cd may be used to obtain the same effect as described in the embodiments. In the embodiments, although the structure shown in Figs. 5 and 12 are described as lateral mode control structures, the present invention can also be applied to another lateral mode control structure, a wide-stripe structure, a gain waveguide structure, or the like. In addition, the material of the substrate is not limited to GaAs, and a material having a lattice constant which is relatively close to the lattice constant of GaAs can be used. When the active layer has lattice mismatching which falls within a range of q1.5%, the lattice mismatching poses no problem. A stripe of the <01-1> orientation or a stripe of the <011> orientation on the (100) substrate may be used as the ridge stripe. When an OFF angle from the (100) plane is set within a range of 15°, a substrate having a plane which is offset from the (100) plane to the <011> direction or a substrate having a plane which is offset from the (100) plane to the <01-1> direction may be used as a substrate. In this case, <011> direction and <01 1 > direction cross at right angle on the same plane.

Claims: A semiconductor laser comprising: an active layer (103, 303, 504) made of a semiconductor represented by In 1-y (Ga 1-x Al x ) y P where 0 ≤ x < 1, and 0 < y < 1 ; a firstcladdinglayer(102, 302,502)arranged on the negative polarity side of said active layer, and made of a semiconductor of an n-conductivity type represented by InGaAlP and heterogeneous from said semiconductor of said active layer; a second cladding layer (104, 304, 505) arranged on the positive polarity side of said active layer, and made of a semiconductor of a p-conductivity type represented by InGaAlP and heterogeneous from said semiconductor of said active layer; a first contact layer (101, 301, 501) arranged on the negative polarity side of said first cladding layer, and made of a semiconductor of the n-conductivity type represented by GaAs; a second contact layer (109, 309, 510) arranged on the positive polarity side of said second cladding layer, and made of a semiconductor of the p-conductivity type represented by GaAs; and a current blocking layer (108, 308, 509) arranged on the positive polarity side of said second cladding layer so as to define a current path between said second cladding layer and said second contact layer, and made of a semiconductor of the n-conductivity type represented by GaAs; characterised in that said semiconductor of said active layer is constituted by an ordered structure, in which the Group III atoms are arranged with regularity in the <111> direction, having two lattice constants a and 2a in the <111> direction, said semiconductor of said second cladding layer is constituted by a disordered structure, in which the Group III atoms are arranged at random, having the lattice constant a in the <111> direction, whereby the band discontinuity at the interface of said active layer and said cladding layer is larger than if the Group III atoms of said active layer were disordered, for reducing leakage of electrons from said active layer to said second cladding layer, and in that an intermediate bandgap layer (107, 307, 508) is arranged between said second cladding layer and said second contact layer, and made of a semiconductor of the p-conductivity type represented by InGaP. A semiconductor laser according to claim 1, further characterised in that a third cladding layer (106, 306, 507) is arranged between said second cladding layer (104, 304, 505) and said intermediate layer (107, 307, 508), and made of a semiconductor of a p-conductivity type represented by InGaAlP and homogeneous to said semiconductor of said second cladding layer, said semiconductor of said third cladding layer being constituted by an ordered structure, in which the Group III atoms are arranged with regularity in the <111> direction, having two lattice constants a and 2a in the <111> direction. A semiconductor laser according to claim 2, further characterized in that an etching stopper layer (105, 506) is arranged between said second and third cladding layers, and made of a semiconductor of a p-conductivity type represented by InGaP. A semiconductor laser according to claim 3, further characterized in that said current blocking layer (107, 508) is arranged on said etching stopper layer (105, 506) and surrounds said second cladding layer (106, 507). A semiconductor laser according to claim 1, further characterized in that said second cladding layer is divided into two stacked parts by an etching stopper layer (305) made of a semiconductor of a p-conductivity type represented by InGaP. A semiconductor laser according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further characterized in that a fourth cladding layer (112) is arranged between said active layer (103) and said second cladding layer (104) and made of a semiconductor of a p-conductivity type represented by InGaAlP and homogeneous to said semiconductor of said second cladding layer, said semiconductor of said fourth cladding layer being constituted by an ordered structure, in which the Group III atoms are arranged with regularity in the <111> direction, having two lattice constants a and 2a in the <111> direction. A semiconductor laser according to any one of claims 1 to 6, furhter characterized in that the distance between said active layer (103, 303, 504) and said second cladding layers (104, 304, 505) is from 0 to 40 nm. A semiconductor laser according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further characterized in that the thickness of said second cladding layer (104, 304, 505) is from 0.05 to 0.8 µm. A semiconductor laser according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further characterized in that said first contact layer (100, 300, 500) is a substrate supporting said first cladding layer (102, 302, 503) and having a surface of the (100) plane, a plane inclined from the (100) plane towards the <011> direction by up to 15°, or a plane inclined from the (100) plane towards the <01 1 > direction by up to 15°.

Inventors: HATAKOSHI GENICHI, ITAYA KAZUHIKO, NISHIKAWA YUKIE, NITTA KOICHI, OKAJIMA MASAKI, WATANABE MINORU, HATAKOSHI, GENICHI, ITAYA, KAZUHIKO, NISHIKAWA, YUKIE, NITTA, KOICHI, OKAJIMA, MASAKI, WATANABE, MINORU, HATAKOSHI, GENICHI, C/O INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIV., ITAYA, KAZUHIKO, C/O INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIV., NISHIKAWA, YUKIE, C/O INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIV., NITTA, KOICHI, C/O INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIV., OKAJIMA, MASAKI, C/O INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIV., WATANABE, MINORU, C/O INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIV.
Applicants: TOSHIBA KK, KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
Application year: 1992
Main classification: H01S3
IPC codes: H01S5, H01L33