Electron-cyclotron resonance etching of mirrors for ridge-guided lasers

Etched laser mirrors are important for the monolithic integration of lasers in optical circuits without cleaved facets. Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) etching is ideal for opto-electronic fabrication since the etching parameters are independently adjustable and a variety of masking materials are available for creating multiple etch depths, e.g., for etched ridge lasers with etched mirror facets. We report on the fabrication and characterization of ECR etched laser mirrors and waveguides. The quality of the ECR etch is ascertained by measuring the reflection coefficients of 90/spl deg/ turning mirrors in GaAs-AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) lasers incorporating multiple numbers of 90/spl deg/ bends. The average reflection coefficient is found to be approximately 80%.>