Patent ID: 7442953

Claim:
An opto-electronic device comprising: a crystalline substrate; an insulator layer coextensive with a top surface of the crystalline substrate; an epitaxial stack of alternating photon-active semiconductor layers and electrical-insulator layers above a central part of the top surface of the insulator layer; first contact means formed on a first edge part of the top surface of the insulator layer, said first contact means extending parallel with a direction of epitaxial deposition and being in contact with one side wall of at least one active semiconductor layer for at least one of injecting charge carriers into and extracting charge carriers from the active semiconductor layer(s) associated therewith; and second contact means formed on a second edge part of the top surface of the insulator layer, said second contact means extending parallel with the direction of epitaxial deposition and being in contact with a second side wall of at least one active semiconductor layer for at least one of extracting charge carriers from and injecting charge carriers into the active semiconductor layer(s) associated therewith; wherein at least one of said first contact means and said second contact means comprise at least one barrier layer between a conductive material and the semiconductor active layer.