Versatile method and system for single mode VCSELs
First Claim
1. A method of producing a single mode VCSEL comprising the steps of:
- forming a VCSEL structure having a substrate, a bottom contact portion disposed upon a lower surface of the substrate, a lower mirror portion disposed upon an upper surface of the substrate, an active region disposed upon the lower mirror portion, and an upper mirror portion formed from electrically isotropic material and disposed upon the active region;
providing a substantially equipotential layer disposed upon the upper mirror portion;
selectively interposing an electrically insulating layer between the upper mirror portion and the equipotential layer to form an aperture therebetween; and
providing an upper contact portion disposed upon the equipotential layer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for providing a single mode VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) component (100) is disclosed, comprising a semiconductor substrate (102) having a lower surface and an upper surface, a bottom electrical contact (104) disposed along the lower surface of the substrate, a lower mirror (106) formed of n-type material and disposed upon the upper surface of the substrate, an active region (108) having a plurality of quantum wells disposed upon the lower mirror portion, an upper mirror (110) formed from isotropic material and disposed upon the active region, an equipotential layer (112) disposed upon the upper mirror portion, a first upper electrical contact (120) disposed upon the equipotential layer, a second upper electrical contact (122) disposed upon the equipotential layer at a particular distance (124) from the first upper electrical contact, a first isolation region (126) disposed beneath the first upper contact and traversing the equipotential layer, the upper mirror, the active region, and the lower mirror, a second isolation region (128) disposed beneath the second upper contact and traversing the equipotential layer, the upper mirror, the active region, and the lower mirror, and an insulating layer (114, 116) interposed between the upper mirror and the equipotential layer and adapted to form therebetween an aperture (118) of smaller dimension than the particular distance between the first and second upper contacts.
105 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of producing a single mode VCSEL comprising the steps of:
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forming a VCSEL structure having a substrate, a bottom contact portion disposed upon a lower surface of the substrate, a lower mirror portion disposed upon an upper surface of the substrate, an active region disposed upon the lower mirror portion, and an upper mirror portion formed from electrically isotropic material and disposed upon the active region;
providing a substantially equipotential layer disposed upon the upper mirror portion;
selectively interposing an electrically insulating layer between the upper mirror portion and the equipotential layer to form an aperture therebetween; and
providing an upper contact portion disposed upon the equipotential layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A single mode VCSEL comprising:
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a VCSEL structure having a substrate, a bottom contact portion disposed upon a lower surface of the substrate, a lower mirror portion disposed upon an upper surface of the substrate, an active region disposed upon the lower mirror portion, and an upper mirror portion formed from electrically isotropic material and disposed upon the active region;
an equipotential layer disposed upon the upper mirror portion;
an insulating layer interposed between the upper mirror portion and the equipotential layer and adapted to form an aperture therebetween; and
an upper contact portion disposed upon the equipotential layer outside the perimeter of the aperture. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of providing antiguide mode selectivity in a VCSEL comprising the steps of:
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forming a VCSEL structure having a substrate, a bottom contact portion disposed upon a lower surface of the substrate, a lower mirror portion disposed upon an upper surface of the substrate, an active region disposed upon the lower mirror portion, and an upper mirror portion formed from isotropic material and disposed upon the active region;
providing a substantially equipotential layer disposed upon the upper mirror portion;
selectively interposing an electrically insulating layer between the upper mirror portion and the equipotential layer to form an aperture therebetween, wherein the electrically insulating layer is adapted to provide a greater nominal cavity resonance outside the aperture than inside it; and
providing an upper contact portion disposed upon the equipotential layer.
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30. A VCSEL component, adapted to provided single mode operation over wide current ranges, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate having a lower surface and an upper surface;
a bottom electrical contact disposed along the lower surface of the semiconductor substrate;
a lower mirror formed of n-type material and disposed upon the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate;
an active region having a plurality of quantum wells disposed upon the lower mirror portion;
an upper current spreading mirror formed from electrically isotropic material and disposed upon the active region;
an equipotential layer disposed upon the upper mirror portion;
a first upper electrical contact disposed upon the equipotential layer at a first lateral end of the VCSEL component;
a second upper electrical contact disposed upon the equipotential layer at a second end of the VCSEL component at a particular distance from the first upper electrical contact; and
an insulating layer interposed between the upper mirror and the equipotential layer and adapted to form therebetween an aperture.
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31. A method of producing a single mode VCSEL comprising the steps of:
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forming a VCSEL structure having a substrate, a bottom contact portion disposed upon a lower surface of the substrate, a lower mirror portion disposed upon an upper surface of the substrate, an active region disposed upon the lower mirror portion, and an upper mirror portion formed from electrically isotropic material and disposed upon the active region;
providing a substantially equipotential layer disposed upon the upper mirror portion;
selectively interposing an electrically insulating layer between the upper mirror portion and the equipotential layer to form an aperture therebetween, wherein the insulating layer is formed to reduce reflectivity and to increase effective index outside the aperture; and
providing an upper contact portion disposed upon the equipotential layer.
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Specification