Method and system for dicing substrates containing gallium and nitrogen material with conductive core via structures

1. A method for manufacturing optical devices comprising:

providing a substrate, the substrate comprising gallium and nitrogen material, the substrate having a plurality of dislocation bundle centers, the plurality of dislocation bundle centers being aligned according to a predetermined pattern;

locating at least a first dislocation bundle center and a second dislocation bundle center;

isolating at least one dislocation bundle center using an isolation region between the at least one dislocation bundle center and an active region and a p-type region;

separating at least one optical device comprising a portion of the substrate configured with the at least one dislocation bundle center; and

using the at least one dislocation bundle center as an n-type contact region.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

forming active layers overlying the substrate; and

wherein the isolating comprises forming a trench region surrounding the at least one dislocation bundle center and forming an isolation region within the trench region, the isolation region comprising a material selected from an oxide material, a nitride material, a spin-on-glass material, and a combination of any of the foregoing.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the separating comprises dicing the substrate with a cutting pattern based on the predetermined pattern, the cutting pattern comprising a plurality of substantially straight lines.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical device is characterized by a triangular shape.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising forming a p-type contact region over the p-type region.

6. A method for manufacturing an optical device comprising:

providing a substrate, the substrate comprising gallium and nitrogen material, the substrate having a plurality of dislocation bundle centers, the plurality of dislocation bundle centers being aligned according to a predetermined pattern;

locating at least a first dislocation bundle center and a second dislocation bundle center;

defining a first line, the first line connecting at least the first dislocation bundle center and the second dislocation bundle center, the first line being substantially straight;

locating a third dislocation bundle center;

defining a second line, the second line connecting at least the first dislocation bundle center and the third dislocation bundle center, the second line being substantially straight;

cutting the substrate along the first line;

cutting the substrate along the second line; and

forming the optical device comprising at least one of the dislocation bundle centers configured as a contact region, the optical device having a first edge formed by cutting the substrate along the first line.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of dislocation bundle centers is characterized by a diameter of less than 50 microns.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein cutting the substrate along the first line removes a portion of the substrate, the portion of the substrate being characterized by a thickness of at least 30 microns.

9. The method of claim 6 , comprising forming an active region on the optical device.

10. The method of claim 6 , comprising forming a conductive region on the optical device.

11. The method of claim 6 , comprising cutting the substrate along a third line, the third being substantially straight and connecting the second dislocation bundle center and the third dislocation bundle center.

12. The method of claim 6 , comprising forming an LED using the optical device.

13. The method of claim 6 , comprising forming a laser using the optical device.