A communication module includes a laser driving unit (LDU) and one or more multifunction illumination units. The one or more multifunction illumination units are be coupled to the LDU with an electrical connection and configured to transmit both electrical power and data.

Provided is a nitride semiconductor laser element which includes: a stacked structure including a plurality of semiconductor layers including a light emitting layer, the stacked structure including a pair of resonator end faces located on opposite ends; and a protective film including a dielectric body and disposed on at least one of the pair of resonator end faces. The protective film includes a first protective film (a first emission surface protective film), a second protective film (a second emission surface protective film), and a third protective film (a third emission surface protective film) disposed in stated order above the stacked structure. The first protective film is amorphous, the second protective film is crystalline, and the third protective film is amorphous.

A method of removing a substrate from III-nitride based semiconductor layers with a cleaving technique. A growth restrict mask is formed on or above a substrate, and one or more III-nitride based semiconductor layers are grown on or above the substrate using the growth restrict mask. The III-nitride based semiconductor layers are bonded to a support substrate or film, and the III-nitride based semiconductor layers are removed from the substrate using a cleaving technique on a surface of the substrate. Stress may be applied to the III-nitride based semiconductor layers, due to differences in thermal expansion between the III-nitride substrate and the support substrate or film bonded to the III-nitride based semiconductor layers, before the III-nitride based semiconductor layers are removed from the substrate. Once removed, the substrate can be recycled, resulting in cost savings for device fabrication.

A plurality of dies includes a gallium and nitrogen containing substrate having a surface region and an epitaxial material formed overlying the surface region. The epitaxial material includes an n-type cladding region, an active region having at least one active layer overlying the n-type cladding region, and a p-type cladding region overlying the active region. The epitaxial material is patterned to form the plurality of dies on the surface region, the dies corresponding to a laser device. Each of the plurality of dies includes a release region composed of a material with a smaller bandgap than an adjacent epitaxial material. A lateral width of the release region is narrower than a lateral width of immediately adjacent layers above and below the release region to form undercut regions bounding each side of the release region. Each die also includes a passivation region extending along sidewalls of the active region.

Included are: an underlying substrate including a first surface; a semiconductor element layer dividable into a plurality of element portions, the semiconductor element layer being located on the first surface of the underlying substrate; and a support substrate including a second surface on which the semiconductor element layer is located, the second surface facing the first surface, the semiconductor element layer being located on the second surface. The support substrate and the semiconductor element layer include a weak portion used to divide the semiconductor element layer into the plurality of element portions.

Materials containing picocrystalline quantum dots that form artificial atoms are disclosed. The picocrystalline quantum dots (in the form of born icosahedra with a nearly-symmetrical nuclear configuration) can replace corner silicon atoms in a structure that demonstrates both short range and long-range order as determined by x-ray diffraction of actual samples. A novel class of boron-rich compositions that self-assemble from boron, silicon, hydrogen and, optionally, oxygen is also disclosed. The preferred stoichiometric range for the compositions is (B.sub.12H.sub.w).sub.xSi.sub.yO.sub.z with 3≤w≤5, 2≤x≤4, 2≤y≤5 and 0≤z≤3. By varying oxygen content and the presence or absence of a significant impurity such as gold, unique electrical devices can be constructed that improve upon and are compatible with current semiconductor technology.

A method of removing a substrate from III-nitride based semiconductor layers with a cleaving technique. A growth restrict mask is formed on or above a substrate, and one or more III-nitride based semiconductor layers are grown on or above the substrate using the growth restrict mask. The III-nitride based semiconductor layers are bonded to a support substrate or film, and the III-nitride based semiconductor layers are removed from the substrate using a cleaving technique on a surface of the substrate. Stress may be applied to the III-nitride based semiconductor layers, due to differences in thermal expansion between the III-nitride substrate and the support substrate or film bonded to the III-nitride based semiconductor layers, before the III-nitride based semiconductor layers are removed from the substrate. Once removed, the substrate can be recycled, resulting in cost savings for device fabrication.

A semiconductor laser has a mirror formed in a gain chip. The mirror can be placed in the gain chip to provide a broadband reflector to support multiple lasers using the gain chip. The mirror can also be placed in the gain chip to have the semiconductor laser be more efficient or more powerful by changing an optical path length of the gain of the semiconductor laser.

Methods for fabricating vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) on a large wafer are provided. An un-patterned epi layer form is bonded onto a first reflector form. The first reflector form includes a first reflector layer and a wafer of a first substrate type. The un-patterned epi layer form includes a plurality of un-patterned layers on a wafer of a second substrate type. The first and second substrate types have different thermal expansion coefficients. A resulting bonded blank is substantially non-varying in a plane that is normal to an intended emission direction of the VCSEL. A first regrowth is performed to form first regrowth layers, some of which are patterned to form a tunnel junction pattern. A second regrowth is performed to form second regrowth layers. A second reflector form is bonded onto the second regrowth layers, wherein the second reflector form includes a second reflector layer.

A semiconductor device having a GeSiSn base region combined with an emitter region and a collector region can be used to fabricate a bipolar transistor or a heterojunction bipolar transistor. The GeSiSn base region can be compositionally graded or latticed matched or strained to GaAs. The GeSiSn base region can be wafer bonded to a GaN or SiC collector region.