Room-temperature continuous-wave operation of 1.54-μm vertical-cavity lasers

We report on the room-temperature continuous-wave operation of vertical-cavity lasers operating at 1.54 μm. The devices use a 7 strain-compensated quantum-well active layer sandwiched between two Al(Ga)As-GaAs quarter-wave mirrors joined by wafer fusion. Five device sizes between 8 and 20 μm were found to operate continuously at room temperature (23/spl deg/C), The lowest room-temperature continuous-wave threshold current of 2.3 mA was measured on an 8-μm diameter device, while the highest continuous-wave operating temperature of 33/spl deg/C was measured on a 12-μm device.