Degradation behavior of 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with an air-post index-guide structure

The degradation mechanism of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with an air-post structure is analyzed for stable optical parallel interconnection communication. It is clarified that the degradation is caused by the behavior of latent defects in the GaAs active layer. Decreasing the defects in the active region as well as decreasing the threshold current is important for obtaining a long-lifetime VCSEL.