Vertical cavity surface emitting laser for high power single mode operation and method of fabrication

• US 6,021,147 A
• Filed: 11/04/1997
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: II-VI Delaware, Inc. (Coherent Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jiang, Wenbin, Lebby, Michael S., Huang, Rong-Ting
• Primary Examiner(s): Davie, James W.
• Application Number:
  US08/963,623
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 372/96, 372/50, 372/45, 372/66, 372/46, 438/39, 438/41
• US Class Current: 372/50.124
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/166 Single transverse or lateral mode
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/176 Specific passivation layers on surfaces other than the emission facet
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/04254 characterised by the shape
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/183 having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/205 Antiguided structures

Abstract

A VCSEL for high power single mode operation and method of fabrication including a substrate element, a first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors disposed on a surface of the substrate element, an active region lattice matched to a surface of the first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors, and a second stack of distributed Bragg reflectors lattice matched to a surface of the active region. The VCSEL structure includes an isolation layer formed on the second stack of distributed Bragg reflectors. The isolation layer is formed of a dielectric material or insulating semiconductor material having an index of refraction greater than the first and second stacks of distributed Bragg reflectors and thereby defining an anti-guiding VCSEL structure. An electrical contact is coupled to a surface of the second stack of distributed Bragg reflectors and an electrical contact is positioned a surface of the substrate element.

Claims

1. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors disposed on the surface of the substrate;

an active region disposed on the first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors;

a second stack of distributed Bragg reflectors disposed on the active region; and

an isolation layer disposed on the second stack of distributed Bragg reflectors, the isolation layer including one of amorphous silicon or polysilicon and having an index of refraction greater than an index of refraction of the first and second stacks of distributed Bragg reflectors.

2. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the laser is configured for high power single mode operation of greater than 2 milliwatts.

3. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the laser is defined by a ridge wave guide wafer structure.

4. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the isolation layer, the first and second stacks of distributed Bragg reflectors and the active region are characterized as defining an anti-guiding VCSEL structure wherein higher order modes experience a higher loss during operation.

5. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors including a plurality of pairs of alternating layers disposed on the surface of the substrate, the first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors having a surface;

an active region having a first and a second surface and including an active structure sandwiched between a first cladding region and a second cladding region, the active region being lattice matched to the surface of the first stack of distributed Bragg reflectors;

a second stack of distributed Bragg reflectors lattice matched to the second surface of the active region and including a plurality of pairs of alternating layers; and

an isolation layer including one of amorphous silicon or polysilicon, the isolation layer having an index of refraction greater than an index of refraction of the first and second stacks of distributed Bragg reflectors.

6. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the laser is configured for high power single mode operation of greater than 2 milliwatts.

7. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the laser is defined by a ridge wave guide wafer structure.

8. A vertical cavity surface emitting laser device as claimed in claim 7 wherein the isolation layer, the first and second stacks of distributed Bragg reflectors and the active region are characterized as defining an anti-guiding VCSEL structure wherein higher order modes experience higher loss during operation.