Method of manufacturing a light-emitting diode by liquid phase epitaxy

Claim 1

A method of making a small-area light-emitting diode structure of the surface-emitting type having a plurality of epitaxial semiconductor layers comprising the steps of: selecting a substrate layer of n-type or p-type gallium arsenide compound having a surface area extending over the length and breadth of the desired diode structure; growing in a furnace by liquid phase epitoxy on one surface of said substrate layer a thin blocking layer of doped semiconductor materials including gallium arsenide so as to form a junction of the opposite semiconductor type; removing said two-layer structure from said furnace and etching a first small-area hole through said blocking layer down to the surface of said substrate layer; placing said etched two-layer structure in said furnace and sequentially growing over said blocking layer a double heterostructure by liquid phase epitoxy comprising further doped semiconductor materials including gallium arsenide so as to form third, fourth, fifth and sixth layers, said third layer being of the same semiconductor type as said substrate layer and the fourth, fifth and sixth layers being of the opposite type, said fourth layer comprising an active light-emitting layer in the completed diode structure and said sixth layer comprising a cap layer; removing said six-layer structure from said furnace and depositing a metallic contacting layer on the upper surface of said cap layer; etching a second small-area hole, having a size approximately equal to the size of the first small-area hole, through said metal surface in alignment with said first hole on an axis perpendicular to the layer surfaces; and bonding the other surface of said substrate layer to a metallic contacting and supporting means.

Claim 2

A method of making a small-area light-emitting diode structure of the surface-emitting type having a plurality of epitaxial semiconductor layers comprising the steps of: selecting a substrate layer of n-type or p-type gallium arsenide compound having a surface area extending over the length and breadth of the desired diode structure; growing in a furnace by liquid phase epitoxy on one surface of said substrate layer a thin blocking layer of doped semiconductor materials including gallium arsenide so as to form a junction of the opposite semiconductor type; removing said two-layer structure from said furnace and etching a first small-area hole through said blocking layer down to the surface of said substrate layer; placing said etched two-layer structure in said furnace and sequentially growing over said blocking layer a double heterostructure by liquid phase epitoxy comprising further doped semiconductor materials including gallium arsenide so as to form third, fourth, fifth and sixth layers, said third layer being of the same semiconductor type as said substrate layer and the fourth, fifth and sixth layers being of the opposite type, said fourth layer comprising an active light-emitting layer in the completed diode structure and said sixth layer comprising a cap layer; removing said six-layer structure from said furnace and depositing a metallic contacting layer on the upper surface of said cap layer; etching a second small-area hole, having a size approximately equal to the size of the first small-area hole, through said metal surface in alignment with said first hole on an axis perpendicular to the layer surfaces; and bonding the other surface of said substrate layer to a metallic contacting and supporting means.