Addressable semiconductor laser array and laser transmitter circuit

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of laser equipment, in particular to an addressable semiconductor laser array and a laser transmitter circuit. The addressable semiconductor laser array comprises a substrate, a plurality of laser units, a cathode and an anode, wherein the cathode and the anode are arranged on the lower surface of the substrate. The plurality of laser units are arranged in an array and are all located on the upper surface of the substrate, and each laser unit is provided with a P-type contact electrode and an N-type contact electrode. The anode is electrically connected with the P-type contact electrode, and the cathode is electrically connected with the N-type contact electrode. The plurality of laser units are all located on the upper surface of the substrate, and the cathode and the anode are both arranged on the lower surface of the substrate, so that the anode or a wiring structure of the cathode can be prevented from shielding light, the cathode and the anode can be flexibly wired on the lower surface of the substrate, and a circuit can be planned according to actual needs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of laser equipment, and in particular to an addressable semiconductor laser array and a laser transmitter circuit. Background Art

[0002] Semiconductor lasers that emit perpendicular to the cavity surface (such as photonic crystal surface emitting lasers and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers) emit light beams perpendicular to the basic surface. They have many advantages such as low threshold current, circular spot, high modulation bandwidth, single longitudinal mode lasing, easy realization of high-density two-dimensional arrays, and low production cost, and are widely used in many fields.

[0003] It is worth mentioning that in the application of lidar, laser scanning can be achieved by utilizing addressable technology of semiconductor laser arrays emitting perpendicular to the cavity surface, without the aid of any rotating parts. Compared with mechanical lidar that achieves laser scanning through rotating parts, the stability (for example, structural stability, rotation accuracy stability) and reliability of rotating parts during operation can be avoided. The influence on the accuracy of scanning results can also be avoided, and the production process can be simplified, reducing production costs.

[0004] Specifically, addressing technology can be used to realize zoned lighting of laser chips in a semiconductor laser array, and the projection range and projection direction of the laser can be controlled by controlling the lighting areas and the lighting sequence, so that lasers emitted from different areas of the laser chip are gradually projected to various parts of the target area to be measured in a specific order to realize laser scanning.

[0005] However, there are still some problems with the current semiconductor laser array addressable technology. For example, 2D addressable semiconductor laser arrays cannot achieve simultaneous emission of specific laser units.

[0006] Application Contents The present application provides an addressable semiconductor laser array and a laser emitter circuit, which are used to solve the defect that the addressable semiconductor laser array in the prior art cannot realize the emission of a specific laser unit.

[0007] The present application provides an addressable semiconductor laser array, comprising: substrate; A plurality of laser units, wherein the plurality of laser units are arranged in an array and are all located on the upper surface of the substrate, and each of the laser units has a P-type contact electrode and an N-type contact electrode; A cathode and an anode are both arranged on the lower surface of the substrate, the anode is electrically connected to the P-type contact electrode, and the cathode is electrically connected to the N-type contact electrode.

[0008] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided in the present application, an extended electrode is provided between the P-type contact electrode and the anode, and the extended electrode penetrates the substrate.

[0009] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application, an insulating layer is provided between the extended electrode and the laser unit.

[0010] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application, the insulating layer is located on the outer peripheral wall of the laser unit.

[0011] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application, the plurality of laser units arranged in an array include a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. All the laser units in each column share a common anode and are arranged in parallel, and the anodes of each column are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the row; All the laser units in each row share a cathode and are arranged in parallel, and the cathodes of each row are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the column.

[0012] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application, the plurality of laser units arranged in an array include a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. All the laser units in each column share a common anode and are arranged in parallel, and the anodes of each column are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the row; Each of the laser units in each column has an independent cathode, and all of the cathodes are arranged in parallel.

[0013] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application, the lead-out structures of all cathodes are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the substrate.

[0014] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application, the substrate has a first edge and a second edge, a plurality of anodes are arranged at the first edge, and the cathode is guided to the second edge.

[0015] The present application also provides a laser transmitter circuit, comprising the addressable semiconductor laser array as described above.

[0016] The addressable semiconductor laser array and laser emitter circuit provided in the present application are such that multiple laser units are located on the upper surface of the substrate and the cathode and anode are arranged on the lower surface of the substrate. In this way, the wiring structure of the anode or cathode can be prevented from blocking light, and the cathode and anode can be flexibly wired on the lower surface of the substrate to plan the circuit according to actual needs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or the prior art, a brief introduction will be given below to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application; Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an addressable semiconductor laser array provided by the present application; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the addressable semiconductor laser array provided in this application.

[0019] Reference numerals: 100. Addressable semiconductor laser array; 110, substrate; 111, first edge; 112, second edge; 120, laser unit; 121, P-type contact electrode; 122, N-type contact electrode; 123, extension electrode; 124, insulating layer; 125, N-type DBR layer; 126, active region layer; 127, current limiting layer; 128, P-type DBR layer; 130, cathode; 140, anode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions in this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] Combine the following Figure 1-Figure 3 The addressable semiconductor laser array 100 and the laser emitter circuit of the present application are described. It is worth noting that the following description is only an exemplary description and is not a specific limitation of the present application.

[0022] It should be noted that the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 is a special laser technology that allows each emitter in the laser array to be individually controlled and addressed. Since each laser unit 120 can be independently controlled, the addressable array can achieve more complex light field distribution and dynamic patterns, which is very important for applications that require precise beam control.

[0023] The addressable semiconductor laser array 100 according to the embodiment of the present application includes: a substrate 110 , a plurality of laser units 120 , and a cathode 130 and an anode 140 both disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 110 .

[0024] Specifically, the plurality of laser units 120 may be arranged in an array on the substrate 110, that is, the plurality of laser units 120 share the substrate 110. The substrate 110 may be made of III-V semiconductor materials such as GaAs, InP, or GaSb.

[0025] Each of the laser units 120 has a P-type contact electrode 121 and an N-type contact electrode 122. Figure 2 As shown, the anode 140 is electrically connected to the P-type contact electrode 121, and the cathode 130 is electrically connected to the N-type contact electrode 122. It should be noted that titanium, platinum, and gold are commonly used metals that can be used to form the P-type contact electrode 121. In some preparation methods, this layer of metal electrode can be deposited by electron beam evaporation, and then a lift-off process is performed to form an electrode structure. It should also be noted that gold-germanium-nickel or gold is a commonly used material for the N-type contact electrode 122. Using an alloy of gold, germanium and nickel as the material for the N-type contact electrode 122 can provide a good ohmic contact, and through appropriate annealing treatment, the contact resistance can be further reduced.

[0026] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, multiple laser units 120 are all located on the upper surface of the substrate 110, and the cathode 130 and the anode 140 are both arranged on the lower surface of the substrate 110. It should be noted that the light is emitted from the upper surface side of the substrate 110, and the anode 140 and the cathode 130 are both arranged on the lower surface of the substrate 110. In this way, the wiring structure of the anode 140 or the cathode 130 can be prevented from blocking the light, and the cathode 130 and the anode 140 can be flexibly wired on the lower surface of the substrate 110. On the one hand, the wiring flexibility of the cathode 130 and the anode 140 can be improved, and then the light output flexibility of the addressable semiconductor laser array can be improved, so that the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 has more light output arrays; on the other hand, the structural layout of the light output side can also be optimized.

[0027] According to the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 of the embodiment of the present application, the plurality of laser units 120 are located on the upper surface of the substrate 110, and the cathode 130 and the anode 140 are arranged on the lower surface of the substrate 110. In this way, it is possible to avoid the wiring structure of the anode 140 or the cathode 130 from blocking light, and the cathode 130 and the anode 140 can be flexibly wired on the lower surface of the substrate 110 to plan the circuit according to actual needs.

[0028] According to some embodiments of the present application, see Figure 2As shown, an extended electrode 123 is provided between the P-type contact electrode 121 and the anode 140, and the extended electrode 123 penetrates the substrate 110. By providing the extended electrode 123, the P-type contact electrode 121 and the anode 140 can be conveniently electrically connected. An insulating layer 124 is provided between the extended electrode 123 and the laser unit 120, so that the extended electrode 123 and the laser unit 120 can be protected at the same time to prevent the extended electrode 123 from short-circuiting with other structures on the laser unit 120. The extended electrode 123 can be attached to the insulating layer 124. Furthermore, the insulating layer 124 is located on the outer peripheral wall of the laser unit 120. In this way, the extended electrode 123 can be provided on the periphery of the laser unit 120, so that the structural design of the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 can be optimized.

[0029] According to some embodiments of the present application, see Figure 1 As shown, the plurality of laser units 120 arranged in an array include a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. All the laser units 120 in each column share a common anode 140 and are arranged in parallel. The anodes 140 of each column are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the row. All the laser units 120 in each row share a common cathode 130 and are arranged in parallel. The cathodes 130 of each row are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the column. In this way, by applying power to an anode 140 and a cathode 130 separately, the laser unit 120 at the intersection of the anode 140 and the cathode 130 can emit light separately.

[0030] For example, combined with Figure 1 As shown, taking a 4*4 addressable semiconductor laser array 100 as an example, it includes sixteen laser units 120, which are arranged in a 4*4 array to form a four-row and four-column structure, each row includes four spaced laser units 120, and each column includes four spaced laser units 120. The anodes 140 of the laser units 120 in each column are connected in parallel (that is, the four anodes 140 in each column are connected in parallel), and the anodes 140 in the four columns are arranged in a spaced manner along the row direction; the cathodes 130 of the laser units 120 in each row are connected in parallel (that is, the four cathodes 130 in each row are connected in parallel), and the cathodes 130 in the four rows are arranged in a spaced manner along the column direction. In this way, power is applied to one anode 140 and one cathode 130 separately, and the laser unit 120 located at the intersection of the anode 140 and the cathode 130 emits light separately.

[0031] It should be noted that, taking the 4*4 addressable semiconductor laser array 100 structure as an example, any 2*2 array includes laser unit 120A, laser unit 120B, laser unit 120C, and laser unit 120D. Among the laser units 120A-120D, laser unit 120A and laser unit 120B are in the same row, laser unit 120C and laser unit 120D are in the same row, laser unit 120A and laser unit 120C are in the same column, and laser unit 120B and laser unit 120D are in the same column. Among them, laser unit 120A and laser unit 120B share an anode 140, and laser unit 120A and laser unit 120C share a cathode 130. When controlling any laser unit 120 to emit light, it is only necessary to load power to the anode 140 and cathode 130 corresponding to the laser unit 120, such as: when the anode 140 is powered on alone and the cathode 130 is powered on alone, only the laser unit 120A emits light. However, this structure cannot achieve that any three laser units 120 in any 2*2 array emit light at the same time while another laser unit 120 does not emit light. For example, this mechanism cannot achieve that laser unit 120A, laser unit 120B, and laser unit 120C emit light while laser unit 120D does not emit light.

[0032] Based on this, in order to enable the laser units 120 in the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 to have more arrangements and combinations, according to some embodiments of the present application, see Figure 3 As shown, the plurality of laser units 120 arranged in an array include a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. All the laser units 120 in each column share a common anode 140 and are arranged in parallel. The anodes 140 of each column are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the row. Each of the laser units 120 in each column has an independent cathode 130, and all the cathodes 130 are arranged in parallel.

[0033] It is understandable that the cathode 130 of any laser unit 120 in the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 is an independent electrode, so when one or more laser units 120 are required to emit light, the corresponding anode 140 and cathode 130 can be powered on.

[0034] For example, combined with Figure 3As shown, taking a 4*4 addressable semiconductor laser array 100 as an example, it includes sixteen laser units 120, which are arranged in a 4*4 array to form a four-row and four-column structure, each row includes four spaced laser units 120, and each column includes four spaced laser units 120. The anodes 140 of the laser units 120 in each column are connected in parallel (that is, the four anodes 140 in each column are connected in parallel), and the anodes 140 in the four columns are arranged in intervals along the row direction; in the array, each laser unit 120 has a cathode 130, and all cathodes 130 are arranged in intervals. In this way, when power is applied to an anode 140 and a cathode 130 separately, the anodes 140 and cathodes 130 at the corresponding positions emit light, thereby not only realizing that the laser unit 120 at a single position emits light, but also realizing that multiple laser units 120 emit light in combination.

[0035] According to some embodiments of the present application, the lead-out structures of all cathodes 130 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the substrate 110. In this way, the layout of the lead-out structure of the cathode 130 can be optimized. In some embodiments, the substrate 110 is in a quadrilateral layout, the substrate 110 has a first edge 111 and a second edge 112, a plurality of the anodes 140 are arranged at the first edge 111, and the cathode 130 is guided to the second edge 112. In this way, all cathodes 130 and all anodes 140 can make full use of the space on the lower surface of the substrate 110, so that each laser unit 120 can be independently controlled, thereby improving the light output flexibility of the addressable semiconductor laser array 100. In order to facilitate guiding the lead-out structure of the cathode 130 to the edge position of the substrate 110, in some embodiments, the lead-out structure of some cathodes 130 has a bending structure, and the bending structure can change the direction of the lead-out structure, thereby facilitating the optimization of the layout of the cathode 130.

[0036] According to some embodiments of the present application, the laser unit 120 may include: an N-type DBR layer 125, an active region layer 126, a current limiting layer 127, and a P-type DBR layer 128. Specifically, the N-type DBR layer 125 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 110, and the N-type contact electrode 122 is electrically connected to the N-type DBR layer 125. The active region layer 126 is disposed above the N-type DBR layer 125. The current limiting layer 127 is disposed above the active region layer 126. The P-type DBR layer 128 is located above the current limiting layer 127, and the P-type DBR layer 128 is electrically connected to the P-type contact electrode 121.

[0037] A laser transmitter circuit provided according to the present application includes the addressable semiconductor laser array 100 as described above.

[0038] According to a laser transmitter circuit provided in the present application, multiple laser units 120 are located on the upper surface of a substrate 110, and cathodes 130 and anodes 140 are arranged on the lower surface of the substrate 110. In this way, the wiring structure of the anode 140 or cathode 130 can be prevented from blocking light, and the cathode 130 and anode 140 can be flexibly wired on the lower surface of the substrate 110 to plan the circuit according to actual needs.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An addressable semiconductor laser array (100), characterized in that: include: Substrate (110); A plurality of laser units (120), the plurality of laser units (120) being arranged in an array and all located on the upper surface of the substrate (110), each of the laser units (120) having a P-type contact electrode (121) and an N-type contact electrode (122); A cathode (130) and an anode (140) are both arranged on the lower surface of the substrate (110); the anode (140) is electrically connected to the P-type contact electrode (121), and the cathode (130) is electrically connected to the N-type contact electrode (122).

2. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: An extended electrode (123) is provided between the P-type contact electrode (121) and the anode (140), and the extended electrode (123) penetrates the substrate (110).

3. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: An insulating layer (124) is provided between the extended electrode (123) and the laser unit (120).

4. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 4, characterized in that: The insulating layer (124) is located on the outer peripheral wall of the laser unit (120).

5. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of laser units (120) arranged in an array include a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, All the laser units (120) in each column share a common anode (140) and are arranged in parallel, and the anodes (140) of each column are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the row; All the laser units (120) in each row share a cathode (130) and are arranged in parallel, and the cathodes (130) of each row are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the column.

6. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of laser units (120) arranged in an array include a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, All the laser units (120) in each column share a common anode (140) and are arranged in parallel, and the anodes (140) of each column are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of the row; Each of the laser units (120) in each column has an independent cathode (130), and all of the cathodes (130) are arranged in parallel.

7. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lead-out structures of all cathodes (130) are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the substrate (110).

8. The addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that: The substrate (110) has a first edge (111) and a second edge (112), a plurality of anodes (140) are arranged at the first edge (111), and the cathode (130) is led to the second edge (112).

9. A laser transmitter circuit, characterized in that: The invention comprises an addressable semiconductor laser array (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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