High power density vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with ion implanted isolated current aperture.

Area of Science:

• Semiconductor Lasers
• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes (VCSELs) are crucial optoelectronic devices.
• Achieving high output power and power density in VCSELs remains a key challenge.
• Current aperture formation significantly impacts VCSEL performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the performance of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)-based VCSELs with ion-implanted current apertures.
• To demonstrate high continuous-wave (CW) output power and power density.
• To evaluate the background suppression ratio and the effectiveness of ion implantation for isolation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of GaAs-based VCSELs utilizing ion implantation for defining current apertures.
• Characterization of device performance under continuous-wave (CW) operation at 15 °C.
• Measurement of output power, power density, and background suppression ratio at a 970 nm emission wavelength.

Main Results:

• Achieved a continuous-wave (CW) output power exceeding 380 mW from a 100-μm-diameter aperture.
• Demonstrated a record high power density of 4.9 kW/cm² for ion-implanted VCSELs.
• Obtained a background suppression ratio greater than 40 dB at 970 nm.

Conclusions:

• Ion implantation is an effective technique for creating isolated current apertures in VCSELs.
• The demonstrated high output characteristics represent a significant advancement for ion-implanted VCSELs.
• This technique holds promise for realizing high-power VCSEL arrays.