Entirely crack-free ultraviolet GaN/AlGaN laser diodes grown on 2-in. sapphire substrate

We have succeeded in fabricating ultraviolet (UV) GaN/AlGaN laser diodes without any crack generation on a whole 2-in. sapphire substrate using a hetero-facet-controlled epitaxial lateral overgrowth (hetero-FACELO) method. The UV laser diodes lased in the peak wavelength range from 355.4 to 361.6 nm under a pulsed current operation at room temperature. We have also investigated both parameters, material gain and optical-internal loss in GaN/AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The actual threshold currents of the UV laser diodes were practically in agreement with the estimated threshold cur-rent from these parameters. This layer structure is one of the solutions for the purpose of high-yield production of UV photonic devices.