Title :
Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser active regions for enhanced performance with optical pumping
Author :
Geske, Jon ; Gan, Kian-Giap ; Okuno, Yae L. ; Piprek, Joachim ; Bowers, John E.
Author_Institution :
Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Abstract :
We have developed an improved active region design for optically pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. The design makes use of carrier-blocking layers to segment the absorber and promote uniform carrier populations in the quantum wells with pump efficiencies near 75%. A model to calculate the carrier distribution in the active region and a design methodology are presented along with a metric to describe the carrier uniformity in the quantum wells. Experimental verification of the performance improvements shows an over 50% reduction in device thresholds and an increase of 20°C in maximum operating temperatures.
Keywords :
carrier density; laser cavity resonators; optical design techniques; optical pumping; quantum well lasers; surface emitting lasers; wafer bonding; active region design; carrier blocking layers; carrier distribution; carrier uniformity; optical pumping; quantum wells; semiconductor lasers; uniform carrier populations; vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser; wafer bonding; Design methodology; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Optical design; Optical pumping; Pump lasers; Quantum well lasers; Surface emitting lasers; Temperature; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers; Optical pumping; semiconductor lasers; surface-emitting lasers; wafer bonding;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JQE.2004.833234
