Abstract: The present invention provide a reverse mesa ridge waveguide type laser diode and a method of fabricating the same.

Abstract: A ridge wavegide laser diode, with an inverse mesa structure, resistant to heat and improved in the adhesion of a contact metal to a contact layer, which can be obtained by forming a polyimide spacer in such a way that polyimide remains only at the lower part of the corner of the inverse mesa structure. In the diode, the contact metal is minimally broken off at the opposite sides of the mesa structure.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a laser diode with reverse mesa structure has the following processes. A buffer layer of a first conductivity type, an active layer, a clad layer of a second conductivity type and a high-concentration contact layer of the second conductivity type are sequentially formed on a compound semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type. Predetermined portions of the contact layer and of the clad layer are etched to form a reverse mesa structure. A passivation layer is formed on the overall substrate and the passivation existing on the reverse mesa structure is removed to expose the contact layer. A metal layer is formed on the exposed contact layer to contact therewith and a conductive metal layer is uniformly formed on the metal layer and the passivation layer. A pad metal layer is formed on the conductive metal layer to fill the etched portions of either side of the reverse mesa structure.