Patent ID: 7435660

Claim:
A method for forming an active region associated with a semiconductor laser, the method comprising: forming a flattening layer by: at a first flux of a group V constituent, growing from about 10 to about 73 nitrogen-free monolayers of group III and group V constituents by alternately depositing single atomic layers of group III constituents and group V constituents in the absence of nitrogen; and at a second group V flux that is increased with respect to the first group V flux, growing one or more additional monolayers of alternating group III and group V constituents; forming a quantum well over the flattening layer at a flux that is greater than the first flux, wherein at least a portion of the quantum well layers contain nitrogen; and forming a cap layer over the quantum well, the cap layer being substantially free of at least one of In or N and wherein the cap layer is not grown by migration enhanced epitaxy.