2-D temperature mapping of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers determined by microprobe electroluminescence

Spatially resolved temperature increase of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers associated with different current injection conditions is reported. This information is unambiguously extracted by comparing the thermal shift of the spontaneous electroluminescence peaks transmitted through the Bragg mirrors under pulsed and steady state operation. Comparison with the temperature increase estimated by the usual wavelength shift of the laser line under the same operating conditions clearly shows the capability of the proposed technique.