SELF-STOPPING SELECTIVE-OXIDATION PROCESS OF ALAS

Self-stopping, selective oxidation of AlAs was demonstrated. Lateral o xidation was stopped where the thickness of AlAs was decreased from 30 to 15 nm because of the large stress arising from the layer boundary of the oxidized AlAs and the surrounding GaAs. The thickness could be varied without degrading the wafer quality by in situ selective growth using the masked molecular beam epitaxy method, which will be availab le to make oxidized vertical cavity surface emitting lasers uniformly and repeatedly. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.