Green Vertical‑Cavity Surface‑Emitting Lasers Based on InGaN Quantum Dots and Short Cavity

Room temperature low threshold lasing of green GaNbased vertical cavity surface emitting laser(VCSEL)was demonstrated under continuous wave(CW)operation.By using self-formed InGaN quantum dots(QDs)as the active region,the VCSEL emitting at 524.0 nm has a threshold current density of 51.97 A cm^(-2),the lowest ever reported.The QD epitaxial wafer featured with a high IQE of 69.94%and theδ-function-like density of states plays an important role in achieving low threshold current.Besides,a short cavity of the device(~4.0λ)is vital to enhance the spontaneous emission coupling factor to 0.094,increase the gain coefficient factor,and decrease the optical loss.To improve heat dissipation,AlN layer was used as the current confinement layer and electroplated copper plate was used to replace metal bonding.The results provide important guidance to achieving high performance GaN-based VCSELs.

Vertical cavity surface emitting laser transverse mode and polarization control by elliptical hole photonic crystal

The polarization of traditional photonic crystal（PC） vertical cavity surface emitting laser（VCSEL） is uncontrollable,resulting in the bit error increasing easily.Elliptical hole photonic crystal can control the transverse mode and polarization of VCSEL efficiently.We analyze the far field divergence angle,and birefringence of elliptical hole PC VCSEL.When the ratio of minor axis to major axis b/a = 0.7,the PC VCSEL can obtain single mode and polarization.According to the simulation results,we fabricate the device successfully.The output power is 1.7 mW,the far field divergence angle is less than 10°,and the side mode suppression ratio is over 30 dB.The output power in the Y direction is 20 times that in the X direction.

Simplified modeling of frequency behavior in photonic crystal vertical cavity surface emitting laser with tunnel injection quantum dot in active region

In this work, the characteristics of the photonic crystal tunneling injection quantum dot vertical cavity surface emitting lasers（Ph C-TIQD-VCSEL） are studied through analyzing a modified modulation transfer function. The function is based on the rate equations describing the carrier dynamics at different energy levels of dot and injector well. Although the frequency modulation response component associated with carrier dynamics in wetting layer（WL） and at excited state（ES） levels of dots limits the total bandwidth in conventional QD-VCSEL, our study shows that it can be compensated for by electron tunneling from the injector well into the dot in TIQD structure. Carrier back tunneling time is one of the most important parameters, and by increment of that, the bias current dependence of the total bandwidth will be insignificant. It is proved that at high bias current, the limitation of the WL-ES level plays an important role in reducing the total bandwidth and results in rollovers on 3-d B bandwidth-I curves. In such a way, for smaller air hole diameter of photonic crystal, the effect of this reduction is stronger.

Polarization switching and synchronization of mutually coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers

Polarization switching （PS） dynamics and synchronization performances of two mutually coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers （VCSELs） are studied theoretically in this paper. A group of dimensionless rate equations is derived to describe our model. While analysing the PS characteristics, we focus on the effects of coupling rate and frequency detuning regarding different mutual injection types. The results indicate that the x-mode injection defers the occurrence of PS, while the y-mode injection leads the PS to occur at a lower current. Strong enough polarization-selective injection can suppress the PS. Moreover, if frequency detuning is considered, the effects of polarization-selective mutual injection will be weakened. To evaluate the synchronization performance, the correlation coefficients and output dynamics of VCSELs with both pure mode and mixed mode polarizations are given. It is found that performance of complete synchronization is sensitive to the frequency mismatch but it is little affected by mixed mode polarizations, which is opposite to the case of injection-locking synchronization.

Micromechanical tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We report the study on a short wavelength-tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser utilizing a monolithically integrated bridge tuning microelectromechanical system. A deformable-bridge top mirror suspended above an active region is utilized. Applied bridge-substrate bias produces an electrostatic force which reduces the spacing of air-gap and tunes the resonant wavelength toward a shorter wavelength （blue-shift）, Good laser characteristics are obtained： such as continuous tuning ranges over 11 nm near 940 nm for 0-9 V tuning bias, the peak output power near 1 mW and the full-width-half-maximum limited to approximately 3.2-6.8 rim. A detailed simulation of the micromechanical and optical characteristics of these devices is performed, and the ratio of bridge displacement to wavelength shift has been found to be 3：1.

Power dissipation in oxide-confined 980-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We presented 980-nm oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers （VCSELs） with a 16 -um oxide aperture. Optical power, voltage, and emission wavelength are measured in an ambient temperature range of 5 ℃-80 ℃. Measurements combined with an empirical model are used to analyse the power dissipation in the device and the physical mechanism contributing to the thermal rollover phenomenon in VCSEL. It is found that the carrier leakage induced selfheating in the active region and the Joule heating caused by the series resistance are the main sources of power dissipation. In addition, carrier leakage induced self-heating increases as the injection current increases, resulting in a rapid decrease of the internal quantum efficiency, which is a dominant contribution to the thermal rollover of the VCSEL at a larger current. Our study provides useful guidelines to design a 980-nm oxide-confined VCSEL for thermal performance enhancement.

Investigation of the mode splitting induced by electro-optic birefringence in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser by polarized electroluminescence

The mode splitting induced by electro-optic birefringence in a P-I-N InGaAs/GaAs/A1GaAs vertical-cavity surface- emitting laser （VCSEL） has been studied by polarized electroluminescence （EL） at room temperature. The polarized EL spectra with E｜｜[110] and E ｜｜ [150] directions, are extracted for different injected currents. The mode splitting of the two orthogonal polarized modes for a VCSEL device is determined, and its value increases linearly with the increasing injected current due to electro-optic birefringence; This article demonstrates that the polarized EL is a powerful tool to study the mode splitting and polarization anisotropy of a VCSEL device.

Single-mode low threshold current multi-hole vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

A multi-hole vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser （VCSEL） operating in stable single mode with a low threshold current was produced by introducing multi-leaf scallop holes on the top distributed Bragg-refleetor of an oxidation- confined 850 nm VCSEL. The single-mode output power of 2.6 mW, threshold current of 0.6 mA, full width of half maximum lasing spectrum of less than 0.1 nm, side mode suppression ratio of 28.4 dB, and far-field divergence angle of about 10% are obtained. The effects of different hole depths on the optical characteristics are simulated and analysed, including far-field divergence, spectrum and lateral cavity mode. The single-mode performance of this multi-hole device is attributed to the large radiation loss from the inter hole spacing and the scattering loss at the bottom of the holes, particularly for higher order modes.

Simulation of Far-Field Properties of Coherent Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Array

Far-field properties dependent on array scale, separation, element width and emitted wavelength are system atically analyzed theoretically and experimentally. An array model based on the finite-difference method is established to simulate the far-field profile of the coherent arrays. Some important conclusions are obtained. To achieve a higher quality beam, it is necessary to decrease separation between elements, or to increase the element width. Higher brightness can be achieved in the array with larger scale. Emitted wavelength also has an influence on the far-field profile. These analyses can be extended to the future design of coherent vertical cavity surface emitting laser arrays.

An efficient approach to characterizing and calculating carrier loss due to heating and barrier height variation in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

It is important to determine quantitatively the internal carrier loss arising from heating and barrier height variation in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting quantum well laser （VCSEL）. However, it is generally difficult to realize this goal using purely theoretical formulas due to difficulty h, deriving the parameters relat^i~g to the quantum well structure. In this paper, we describe an efl：icient approach to characterizing and calculating the carrier loss due to the heating and the barrier height change in the VCSEL. In the method, the thermal carrier loss mechanism is combined with gain measurement and calculation. The carrier loss is re-characterized in a calculable form by constructing the threshold current and gain detuning-related loss current using the measured gain data and then substituting them for the quantum well-related parameters in the formula. The result can be expressed as a product of an exponential weight factor linked to the barrier height change and the difference between the threshold current and gain detuning-related loss current. The gain variation at cavity frequency due to thermal carrier loss and gain detuning processes is measured by using an AllnGaAs-AIGaAs VCSEL structure. This work provides a useful approach to analysing threshold and loss properties of the VCSEL, particularly, gain offset design for high temperature operation of VCSELs.

Beam Steering Analysis in Optically Phased Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Array

Beam steering in implant defined coherently coupled vertical cavity surface emitting laser （VCSEL） arrays is simulated using the FDTD solution software. Angular deflection dependent on relative phase differences among elements, inter-element spacing, element size and emitted wavelength is analyzed detailedly and systematically. We design and fabricate 1×2 implant defined VCSEL arrays for optimum beam steering performance. Electroni- cally controlled beam steering with a maximum deflection angle of 1.6° is successfully achieved in the 1 × 2 VCSEL arrays. The percentage of the power in the central lobe is above 39% when steering. The results show that the steering is controllable. Compared with other beam steering methods, the fabrication process is simple and of low cost.

Characteristics of selective oxidation during the fabrication of vertical cavity surface emitting laser

Taking into account oxidation temperature, N2 carrier gas flow, and the geometry of the mesa structures this paper investigates the characteristics of selective oxidation during the fabrication of the vertical cavity surface emitting laser （VCSEL） in detail. Results show that the selective oxidation follows a law which differs from any reported in the literature. Below 435℃ selective oxidation of Al0.98Ga0.02As follows a linear growth law for the two mesa structures employed in VCSEL. Above 435℃ approximately increasing parabolic growth is found, which is influenced by the geometry of the mesa structures. Theoretical analysis on the difference between the two structures for the initial oxidation has been performed, which demonstrates that the geometry of the mesa structures does influence on the growth rate of oxide at higher temperatures.

A low-threshold and high-power oxide-confined 850-nm AlInGaAs strained quantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

A low-threshold and high-power oxide-confined 850-nm AlInGaAs strained quantum-well （QW） vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser （VCSEL） based on an intra-cavity contacted structure is fabricated. A threshold current of 1.5 mA for a 22 μm oxide aperture device is achieved, which corresponds to a threshold current density of 0.395 kA/cm2. The peak output optical power reaches 17.5 mW at an injection current of 30 mA at room temperature under pulsed opera- tion. While under continuous-wave （CW） operation, the maximum power attains 10.5 mW. Such a device demonstrates a high characteristic temperature of 327 K within a temperature range from -12°C to 96 °C and good reliability under a lifetime test. There is almost no decrease of the optical power when the device operates at a current of 5 mA at room temperature under the CW injection current.

Graded index profiles and loss-induced single-mode characteristics in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with petal-shape holey structure

The 850-nm oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with petal-shape holey structures are presented. An area-weighted average refractive index model is given to analyse their effective index profiles, and the graded index distribution in the holey region is demonstrated. The index step between the optical aperture and the holey region is obtained which is related merely to the etching depth. Four types of holey vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with different parameters are fabricated as well as the conventional oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. Compared with the conventional oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser without etched holes, the holey vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser possesses an improved beam quality due to its graded index distribution, but has a lower output power, higher threshold current and lower slope efficiency. With the hole number increased, the holey vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser can realize the single-mode operation throughout the entire current range, and reduces the beam divergence further. The loss mechanism is used to explain the single-mode characteristic, and the reduced beam divergence is attributed to the shallow etching. High coupling efficiency of 86% to a multi-mode fibre is achieved for the single-mode device in the experiment.

The improved output performance of a broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with an optimized electrode diameter

The output performance of a 980-nm broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser （VCSEL） is improved by optimizing the p-electrode diameter in this study. Based on a three-dimensional finite-element method, the current density distribution within the active region of the VCSEL is optimized through the appropriate adjustment of the p-electrode diameter, and uniform current-density distribution is achieved. Then, the effects of this optimization are studied experimentally. The L-I-V characteristics under different temperatures of the VCSELs with different p-electrode diameters are investigated, and better temperature stability is demonstrated in the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter. The far-field measurements show that with an injected current of 2 A, the far-field divergence angle of the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter is 9°, which is much lower than the far-field angle of the VCSEL without this optimization. Also the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter shows a better near-field distribution.

Control of gain and thermal carrier loss profiles for mode optimization in 980-nm broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Optical gain and thermal carrier loss distributions regarding current diffusion and various electric contact areas are investigated to improve the near-field modes from the ring-shape to a Gaussian-like configuration for extra-broad-area and oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. In this work an equivalent circuit network model is used. The resistance of the continuously-graded distributed Bragg reflectors （DBRs）, the current diffusion and the temperature effect due to different electric-contact areas are calculated and analyzed at first, as these parameters affect one another and are the key factors in determining the gain and thermal carrier loss. Finally, the gain and thermal carrier loss distributions are calculated and discussed.

Analytical modelling of end thermal coupling in a solid-state laser longitudinally bonded by a vertical-cavity top-emitting laser diode

The intrinsic features involving a circularly symmetric beam profile with low divergence, planar geometry as well as the increasingly enhanced power of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers （VCSELs） have made the VCSEL a promising pump source in direct end bonding to a solid-state laser medium to form the minimized, on-wafer integrated laser system. This scheme will generate a surface contact pump configuration and thus additional end thermal coupling to the laser medium through the joint interface of both materials, apart from pump beam heating. This paper analytically models temperature distributions in both VCSEL and the laser medium from the end thermal coupling regarding surface contact pump configuration using a top-emitting VCSEL as the pump source for the first time. The analytical solutions are derived by introducing relative temperature and mean temperature expressions. The results show that the end contact heating by the VCSEL could lead to considerable temperature variations associated with thermal phase shift and thermal lensing in the laser medium. However, if the central temperature of the interface is increased by less than 20 K, the end contact heating does not have a significant thermal influence on the laser medium. In this case, the thermal effect should be dominated by pump beam heating. This work provides useful analytical results for further analysis of hybrid thermal effects on those lasers pumped by a direct VCSEL bond.

High power external-cavity surface-emitting laser with front and end pump

High power optically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers with front and end pump are re- ported. The gain chip consists of 15 repeats of In0.26GaAs/GaAsP0.02 multiple quantum wells and 30 pairs of Alo.2GaAs/Alo.98GaAs distributed Bragg reflectors. The maximum output power of 3 W, optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 22.4%, and slope efficiency of 29.8% are obtained with 5-℃ heatsink temperature under the front pump, while the maximum output power of 1.1 W, optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 23.2%, and slope efficiency of 30.8% are reached with 5-℃ heatsink temperature under the end pump. Influences of thermal effects on the output power of the laser with front and end pump are discussed.

Effect of Mesa Size on Thermal Characteristics of Ver tical-cavity Surface-emitting Lasers

The effect of mesa size on th e thermal characteristics of etched mesa vertical-cavity surface-emitting lase rs(VCSELs) is studied. The numerical results show that the mesa size of the top mirror strongly influences the temperature distribution inside the etched mesa V CSEL. Under a certain driving voltage, with decreasing mesa size, the location o f the maximal temperature moves towards the p-contact metal, the temperature in the core region of the active layer rises greatly, and the thermal characterist ics of the etched mesa VCSELs will deteriorate.

增厚DBR型894 nm窄线宽VCSEL

垂直腔面发射激光器(VCSEL)是芯片级原子钟(CSAC)的主流光源,其光束质量会影响CSAC的各项性能。扩展VCSEL内部有效腔长能够以压缩冷腔线宽的方式压窄器件最终辐射激光的线宽,从而可以减小CSAC短时间内的计时频率噪声。根据所计算的VCSEL表面反射谱,将VCSEL中4层下分布式布拉格反射镜(DBR)的厚度由常规的四分之一波长增加至404 nm,压缩了VCSEL冷腔线宽,并生长了对应的外延结构,制备了通过增厚DBR扩展有效腔长的894 nm窄线宽VCSEL。测试结果表明,研制的VCSEL在90℃下波长为893.1 nm,功率为0.335 mW,线宽约为32 MHz,且具有稳定的偏振特性。