High performance of 1.55-μm buried-heterostructure vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We report a record low threshold current of 1.55-μm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Thin-film wafer-fusion technology enables InP-based buried heterostructure VCSELs to be fabricated on GaAs-AlAs distributed Bragg reflectors. Threshold current density is independent of mesa size, and a 5-μm VCSEL exhibits a threshold current as low as 380 μA at 20/spl deg/C and a single transverse mode up to the maximum optical output power under continuous-wave operation.