ESTRUTURA DE CAMADAS HOTEROEPITAXIAIS DE BAIXA DENSIDADE DE DEFEITOS E PARAMETRO DE RETICULO ARBITARIO,PROCESSO DE FORMACAO DA MESMA E APARELHO DE LASER SEMICONDUTOR E GUIA-DE-ONDA SEMICONDUTOR QUE A UTILIZAM

A multi-layered structure (10) and process for forming it are described, incorporating a single crystal substrate (12), a plurality of epitaxial layers (16, 18, 22, 40, 42, 44, 48) having graded composition wherein the layers have changing lattice spacings not exceeding about 2 percent per 100,0 nm of thickness whereby misfit dislocations (54 ... 59) are formed to relieve strain and then move to the edges of respective layers. The invention overcomes the problem of large numbers of misfit dislocations threading to the surface of the top layer, especially during device processing at at temperatures in a range from 700 to 900 degrees Celsius. Fully relaxed, incommensurate structures having low defect densities are obtained, where arbitrary combinations of materials can be used.