AlOx/AlGaAs technology for multi-plane integrated photonic devices

The III–V semiconductor /oxide technology has become the standard fabrication technique for Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers. Current research aims to further enhance the performance of these emitters and diversify the range of devices that can be made using this technology. In this paper, we present a new model of the oxidation process which includes the anisotropic behaviour observed during conventional lateral oxidation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this technology can be used as an innovative method to make micro-disk resonators with vertically-coupled access waveguides, an approach which can be generalised to fabricate other types of multi-plane photonic devices.