Importance

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Abstract

A light emitting semiconductor heterojunction includes a first layer of n-type semiconducting material comprising a Group II-VI material, and a second layer of p-type semiconducting diamond on the first layer. Preferably the Group II-VI material includes a Group II material selected from the group consisting of zinc and cadmium, and the Group VI material is selected from the group consisting of sulfur and selenium. The light emitting heterojunction will produce light having a wavelength in the range of about 440-550 nanometers, depending on the composition and the temperature of operation. One embodiment of the device is a surface emitting device and includes a contact layer on the diamond layer having a predetermined shape, such as a ring, overlying only a portion of the diamond layer for permitting surface emission of light from diamond layer. The light emitting heterojunction may also be configured as an edge emitting device, such as a laser, wherein the first and second layers both have opposing cleaved edge faces transverse to the heterojunction to thereby define a Fabry-Perot etalon therebetween. A contact stripe is preferably provided on the second layer of the laser. To further define the edge emitting region of the heterojunction, two laterally spaced apart and lengthwise extending insulating layers may be formed between the contact stripe and the diamond. Methods for fabricating the devices are also disclosed.

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First Claim