A high-efficiency vertical-cavity surface-emitting switching laser fabricated with post-growth cavity mode positioning

The first room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) operation of the double heterostructure optoelectronic switching laser implemented as a vertical-cavity laser is described. A deposited dielectric top reflector of SiO/sub 2//TiO/sub 2/ allowed the use of a cavity etch back technique after the sample was grown, to position the cavity mode at the desired wavelength. Room temperature CW threshold currents as low as 4.8 mA for a 14- mu m-diameter device were obtained with slope efficiencies of 0.45 mW/mA. The maximum CW output power was 2.5 mW and the resistivity was 4*10/sup -4/ Omega cm/sup 2/.<
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