LOW GROWTH TEMPERATURE ALGAAS CURRENT BLOCKING LAYERS FOR USE IN SURFACE NORMAL OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES

The application of thin (approximately 1000-5000 angstrom) layers of low-temperature (LT) molecular beam epitaxially (MBE) grown AlGaAs as current blocking layers is investigated. Data are presented regarding the current-voltage characteristics of resistors incorporating such layers, and it is shown that layers as thin as 1000 angstrom are highly resistive when biased to less than 8 V. Lateral current confinement is demonstrated for both surface-emitting light-emitting diodes and vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes through the use of MBE regrowth over a patterned layer of LT AlGaAs. The VCSEL devices exhibit low series resistance with only 1.8 V at a threshold current of 1.9 mA for 10-mum-diam devices.