83 fJ/bit energy-to-data ratio of 850-nm VCSEL at 17 Gb/s

Extremely energy efficient high-speed 850-nm vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) for optical interconnects are presented. Error-free performance at 17 Gb/s and 25 Gb/s via a 100 m multi-mode fiber link is demonstrated at record-high dissipation-power-efficiencies of 69 fJ/bit and 99 fJ/bit. This corresponds to an energy-to-data ratio of 83/117 fJ/bit accounting for the total power consumed. These are the most power-efficient high-speed light-sources reported to date.