High performance and novel effects of micromechanical tunable vertical-cavity lasers

Widely continuously tunable sources are key elements for many applications. This paper discusses the first integrated laser able to continuously tune its wavelength more than 1%: the micromechanical tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). These devices have demonstrated up 19.1 nm of continuous tuning, threshold currents as low as 460 μA, and powers as high as 0.9 mW. In addition to these results, this paper discusses the tuning speed, lifetime, and applicability as a new broad-band source of these devices. Despite mechanical tuning, speeds of μs are possible and long lifetime is expected. A detailed consideration of the design and fabrication of these devices is performed. Finally, an interesting mode switching effect is presented