High-Speed VCSELs With Strong Confinement of Optical Fields and Carriers

We present the design, fabrication, and performance of our latest generation high-speed oxide-confined 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Excellent high-speed properties are obtained by strong confinement of optical fields and carriers. High-speed modulation is facilitated by using the shortest possible cavity length of one half wavelength and placing oxide apertures close to the active region to efficiently confine charge carriers. The resulting strong current confinement boosts internal quantum efficiency, leading to low threshold currents, high wall-plug efficiency, and state-of-the-art high-speed properties at low bias currents. The temperature dependent static and dynamic performance is analyzed by current-power-voltage and small-signal modulation measurements.