Patent ID: 8073031

Claim:
A ridge structure semiconductor laser diode, comprising: a first material encapsulating and directly contacting with the ridge sidewalls, the first material having a refractive index which is greater than 1.0, and a second material, different from the first material, encapsulating and directly contacting with etched regions adjacent the ridge sidewalls of the structure to the exclusion of the first material, where the etched regions define the ridge structure, wherein the first material is one of a low refractive index insulator and a high thermal conductivity insulator, and the second material is the other of the low refractive index insulator and the high thermal conductivity insulator, wherein the first material is the low refractive index insulator and the second material is the high thermal conductivity insulator, and wherein the low refractive index insulator encapsulates the ridge sidewalls at the bottom region of the ridge, and the high thermal conductivity insulator encapsulates the etched regions of the structure and the upper region of the ridge sidewalls.