Patents by Inventor Shunichi Sato

Shunichi Sato has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20110304684
    Abstract: A surface emitting laser device includes a substrate and plural semiconductor layers laminated on the substrate, the plural semiconductor layers including a first semiconductor multi-layer film including aluminum (Al), an active layer, and a second semiconductor multi-layer film, a light emitting section having a mesa structure being formed on the first semiconductor multi-layer film. When viewed in a direction orthogonal to a surface of the substrate, an outer shape of the first semiconductor multi-layer film is a macroscopically smooth shape without an angular corner, and a side surface of the first semiconductor multi-layer film is coated with a passivation film and a protection film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2011
    Publication date: December 15, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Masayuki NUMATA, Shunichi Sato
  • Publication number: 20110280268
    Abstract: A laser diode includes a substrate having a lattice constant of GaAs or between GaAs and GaP, a first cladding layer of AlGaInP formed on the substrate, an active layer of GaInAsP formed on the first cladding layer, an etching stopper layer of GaInP formed on the active layer, a pair of current-blocking regions of AlGaInP formed on the etching stopper layer so as to define a strip region therebetween, an optical waveguide layer of AlGaInP formed on the pair of current-blocking regions so as to cover the etching stopper layer in the stripe region, and a second cladding layer of AlGaInP formed on the optical waveguide layer, wherein the current-blocking regions having an Al content substantially identical with an Al content of the second cladding layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2011
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Inventors: Naoto Jikutani, Shunichi Sato
  • Publication number: 20110261850
    Abstract: A disclosed surface emitting laser device includes a light emitting section having a mesa structure where a lower reflection mirror, an oscillation structure, and an upper reflection mirror are laminated on a substrate, the oscillation structure including an active layer, the upper reflection mirror including a current confined structure where an oxide surrounds a current passage region, a first dielectric film that coats the entire surface of an emitting region of the light emitting section, the transparent dielectric including a part where the refractive index is relatively high and a part where the refractive index is relatively low, and a second dielectric film that coats a peripheral part on the upper surface of the mesa structure. Further, the dielectric film includes a lower dielectric film and an upper dielectric film, and the lower dielectric film is coated with the upper dielectric film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2011
    Publication date: October 27, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.,
    Inventors: Hiroyoshi SHOUJI, Shunichi Sato
  • Patent number: 8035676
    Abstract: In a surface emitting laser element, on a substrate whose normal direction of a principal surface is inclined, a resonator structural body including an active layer, and a lower semiconductor DBR and an upper semiconductor DBR sandwiching the resonator structural body are stacked. A shape of a current passing through region in an oxide confinement structure of the upper semiconductor DBR is symmetrical to an axis passing through a center of the current passing through region parallel to an X axis and symmetrical to an axis passing through the center of the current passing through region parallel to a Y axis, and a length of the current passing through region is greater in the Y axis direction than in the X axis direction. A thickness of an oxidized layer surrounding the current passing through region is greater in the ?Y direction than in the +X and ?X directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Harasaka, Shunichi Sato, Naoto Jikutani, Toshihiro Ishii
  • Publication number: 20110228035
    Abstract: A disclosed surface-emitting laser module includes a surface-emitting laser formed on a substrate to emit light perpendicular to its surface, a package including a recess portion in which the substrate having the surface-emitting laser is arranged, and a transparent substrate arranged to cover the recess portion of the package and the substrate having the surface-emitting laser such that the transparent substrate and the package are connected on a light emitting side of the surface-emitting laser. In the surface-emitting laser module, a high reflectance region and a low reflectance region are formed within a region enclosed by an electrode on an upper part of a mesa of the surface-emitting laser, and the transparent substrate is slanted to the surface of the substrate having the surface-emitting laser in a polarization direction of the light emitted from the surface-emitting laser determined by the high reflectance region and the low reflectance region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Publication date: September 22, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Toshihiro Ishii, Satoru Sugawara, Yoshihiro Ohba, Kazuhiro Harasaka, Shunichi Sato, Kazuhiko Adachi
  • Publication number: 20110217077
    Abstract: A surface-emitting laser device configured to emit laser light in a direction perpendicular to a substrate includes a p-side electrode surrounding an emitting area on an emitting surface to emit the laser light; and a transparent dielectric film formed on an outside area outside a center part of the emitting area and within the emitting area to lower a reflectance to be less than that of the center part. The outside area within the emitting area has shape anisotropy in two mutually perpendicular directions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Publication date: September 8, 2011
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Harasaka, Shunichi Sato, Naoto Jikutani
  • Publication number: 20110211869
    Abstract: A manufacturing method for manufacturing a surface-emitting laser device includes the steps of forming a laminated body in which a lower reflecting mirror, a resonator structure including an active layer, and an upper reflecting layer having a selective oxidized layer are laminated on a substrate; etching the laminated body to form a mesa structure having the selective oxidized layer exposed at side surfaces thereof; selectively oxidizing the selective oxidized layer from the side surfaces of the mesa structure to form a constriction structure in which a current passing region is surrounded by an oxide; forming a separating groove at a position away from the mesa structure; passivating an outermost front surface of at least a part of the laminated body exposed when the separating groove is formed; and coating a passivated part with a dielectric body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2009
    Publication date: September 1, 2011
    Inventors: Hiroyoshi Shouji, Shunichi Sato, Toshihiro Ishii, Kengo Makita, Masahiro Hayashi, Toshihide Sasaki, Akihiro Itoh
  • Patent number: 8009714
    Abstract: A laser diode includes a substrate having a lattice constant of GaAs or between GaAs and GaP, a first cladding layer of AlGaInP formed on the substrate, an active layer of GaInAsP formed on the first cladding layer, an etching stopper layer of GaInP formed on the active layer, a pair of current-blocking regions of AlGaInP formed on the etching stopper layer so as to define a strip region therebetween, an optical waveguide layer of AlGaInP formed on the pair of current-blocking regions so as to cover the etching stopper layer in the stripe region, and a second cladding layer of AlGaInP formed on the optical waveguide layer, wherein the current-blocking regions having an Al content substantially identical with an Al content of the second cladding layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoto Jikutani, Takashi Takahashi, Shunichi Sato
  • Publication number: 20110176122
    Abstract: A surface emitting laser element includes a p-side spacer layer; an n-side spacer layer; and an active layer disposed between the p-side spacer layer and the n-side spacer layer. The p-side spacer layer includes an undoped region adjacent to the active layer in which no p-type dopant is contained. The entire n-side spacer layer is doped with an n-type dopant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2011
    Publication date: July 21, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Morimasa KAMINISHI, Shunichi Sato
  • Patent number: 7981700
    Abstract: A semiconductor oxidation apparatus is provided with a sealable oxidation chamber defined by walls, a base provided within the oxidation chamber and configured to support a semiconductor sample, a supply part configured to supply water vapor into the oxidation chamber to oxidize a specific portion of the semiconductor sample, a monitoring window provided in one of the walls of the oxidation chamber and disposed at a position capable of confronting the semiconductor sample supported on the base, a monitoring part provided outside the oxidation chamber and capable of confronting the semiconductor sample supported on the base via the monitoring window, and an adjusting part configured to adjust a distance between the base and the monitoring part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunichi Sato, Naoto Jikutani, Akihiro Itoh, Shinya Umemoto, Yoshiaki Zenno, Takatoshi Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20110170155
    Abstract: A disclosed surface-emitting laser element includes an emission region configured to emit a laser beam and a high reflectance region including a first dielectric film having a first refractive index and a second dielectric film having a second refractive index differing from the first refractive index where the first dielectric film and the second dielectric film are stacked within the emission region to provide high reflectance. In the surface-emitting laser element, the high reflectance region is formed in a region including a central portion of the emission region and is configured to include shape anisotropy in two orthogonal directions in a plane in parallel with the emission region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2011
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Naoto JIKUTANI, Kazuhiro Harasaka, Satoru Sugawara, Shunichi Sato
  • Patent number: 7978739
    Abstract: In a surface emitting laser element, on an inclined substrate, a resonator structural body including an active layer, and a lower semiconductor DBR and an upper semiconductor DBR sandwiching the resonator structural body are stacked. A shape of a current passing-through region in an oxide confinement structure of the upper semiconductor DBR is symmetrical to an axis passing through a center of the current passing-through region parallel to an X axis and symmetrical to an axis passing through the center of the current passing-through region parallel to a Y axis, and a thickness of an oxidized layer surrounding the current passing-through region is greater in the +Y direction than in the +X and ?X directions. An opening width of a light outputting section in the X axis direction is smaller than another opening width of the light outputting section in the Y axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoru Sugawara, Toshihiro Ishii, Kazuhiro Harasaka, Shunichi Sato
  • Patent number: 7968362
    Abstract: A semiconductor light-emitting device has a semiconductor layer containing Al between a substrate and an active layer containing nitrogen, wherein Al and oxygen are removed from a growth chamber before growing said active layer and a concentration of oxygen incorporated into said active layer together with Al is set to a level such that said semiconductor light-emitting device can perform a continuous laser oscillation at room temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Takahashi, Morimasa Kaminishi, Shunichi Sato, Akihiro Itoh, Naoto Jikutani
  • Patent number: 7957444
    Abstract: A surface-emission laser diode of a vertical-cavity surface-emission laser structure includes a substrate and a mesa structure formed on the substrate, the mesa structure including therein a current confinement structure, wherein the current confinement structure includes a conductive current confinement region and an insulation region surrounding the conductive current confinement region, the insulation region being an oxide of a semiconductor material forming the conductive current confinement region, and wherein a center of the current confinement region is offset from a center of the mesa structure in a plane perpendicular to a laser oscillation direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiro Itoh, Shunichi Sato
  • Publication number: 20110128343
    Abstract: A disclosed surface-emitting laser element includes a resonator structure having an active layer, a first semiconductor multilayer mirror and a second semiconductor multilayer mirror configured to sandwich the resonator structure having the active layer, an electrode provided around an emission region of a light-emitting surface, and a dielectric film provided in a peripheral portion within the emission region and outside a central portion of the emission region to make a reflectance of the peripheral portion lower than a reflectance of the central portion. In the surface-emitting laser element, an outer shape of a portion where the electrode provided around the emission region of the light-emitting surface is in contact with a contact layer includes corners.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2010
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Shunichi SATO, Kazuhiro Harasaka, Naoto Jikutani
  • Publication number: 20110116147
    Abstract: A disclosed surface emitting laser device includes an oscillator structure including an active layer, semiconductor multilayer reflection mirrors sandwiching the oscillator structure, an electrode provided on an emitting surface where light is emitted in a manner such that the electrode surrounds an emitting region, and a dielectric film formed in at least one region outside a center part of the emitting region so that a refractive index of the region outside the center part of the emitting region is less than the refractive index of the center part of the emitting region. When viewed from an emitting direction of the light, a part of the electrode overlaps a part of the dielectric film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi MOTOMURA, Shunichi Sato
  • Publication number: 20110115872
    Abstract: A disclosed surface-emitting laser element includes a substrate, multiple semiconductor layers stacked on the substrate including a resonator structure including an active layer, a semiconductor multilayer mirror on the resonator structure, and a confined structure where a current passage region is enclosed by at least an oxide generated by oxidation of part of a selective oxidation layer containing aluminum, an electrode provided around an emission region, and a dielectric film provided in a peripheral portion within the emission region and outside a central portion of the emission region to make a reflectance of the peripheral portion lower than that of the central portion. The dielectric film is arranged such that a reflectance of a high-order transverse mode in a second direction is higher than that in a first direction, and a width of the current passage region in the first direction is greater than that in the second direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro HARASAKA, Shunichi SATO, Naoto JIKUTANI, Satoru SUGAWARA
  • Patent number: 7940827
    Abstract: A vertical-cavity, surface-emission-type laser diode includes an optical cavity formed of an active region sandwiched by upper and lower reflectors, wherein the lower reflector is formed of a distributed Bragg reflector and a non-optical recombination elimination layer is provided between an active layer in the active region and the lower reflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunichi Sato, Takashi Takahashi, Naoto Jikutani, Morimasa Kaminishi, Akihiro Itoh
  • Patent number: 7907700
    Abstract: The present invention aims to suppress calorific value and prolong a lifetime of an apparatus that generates soft X-rays. Thus, the present invention provides a static elimination apparatus that includes an emitter as an electron emitting portion and a target, in which a thin film formed of diamond particles each having a particle size of 2 nm to 100 nm is formed on a surface of the emitter. The thin film has a diamond XRD pattern in an XRD measurement and, in a Raman spectroscopic measurement, a ratio of an sp3 bonding component to an sp2 bonding component within the film of 2.5 to 2.7:1. When a DC voltage is applied to the emitter, with a threshold electric field intensity of 1 V/?m or less, electrons larger in number than the prior art are emitted from the emitter and moreover, a temperature of the emitter is hardly increased, thus obtaining a longer lifetime.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2011
    Assignees: Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Kochi Industrial Promotion Center
    Inventors: Hitoshi Inaba, Yoshinori Okubo, Yoshiyuki Yagi, Shunichi Sato, Kazuhito Nishimura
  • Publication number: 20110037825
    Abstract: A disclosed vertical cavity surface emitting laser device emits light orthogonally in relation to a substrate and includes a resonator structure including an active layer; and semiconductor multilayer reflectors disposed in such a manner as to sandwich the resonator structure between them and including a confinement structure which confines an injected current and transverse modes of oscillation light at the same time. The confinement structure has an oxidized region which surrounds a current passage region. The oxidized region is formed by oxidizing a part of a selective oxidation layer which includes aluminum and includes at least an oxide. The selective oxidation layer is at least 25 nm in thickness. The semiconductor multilayer reflectors include an optical confinement reducing section which reduces optical confinement in a transverse direction. The optical confinement reducing section is disposed on the substrate side in relation to the resonator structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2009
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoto Jikutani, Shunichi Sato, Satoru Sugawara, Hiroshi Motomura