Title :
Analysis of lateral-mode confinement in VCSELs with ring metal apertures
Author :
Smolyakov, Gennady A. ; Osinski, Marek
Author_Institution :
Center for High Technol. Mater., Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Abstract :
The role of metal apertures in the mechanism of lateral-mode confinement in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is clarified by means of a detailed effective-frequency-method (EFM) analysis of an oxide-confined VCSEL structure with the oxide window larger than the p-contact metal aperture. We show that a ring metal contact on top of the VCSEL structure can change the conditions for lateral waveguiding by significantly modifying the local resonant properties of the VCSEL cavity. Resonant effects are demonstrated in the longitudinal coupled-cavity system consisting of the designed laser cavity, determined by two distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) and a spacer, and a very short cavity formed by the top DBR and the semiconductor-metal interface. The conditions for suppression of higher order lateral modes using metal apertures are established.
Keywords :
distributed Bragg reflector lasers; laser cavity resonators; laser modes; semiconductor lasers; semiconductor-metal boundaries; surface emitting lasers; waveguide lasers; VCSEL cavity; distributed Bragg reflectors; effective frequency method; higher order lateral modes; lateral waveguiding; lateral-mode confinement; local resonant properties; longitudinal coupled-cavity system; oxide-confined VCSEL; p-contact metal aperture; resonant effects; ring metal apertures; ring metal contact; semiconductor-metal interface; Apertures; Distributed Bragg reflectors; Laser modes; Optical coupling; Optical design; Resonance; Ring lasers; Semiconductor lasers; Surface emitting lasers; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers; Effective frequency method (EFM); numerical simulation; oxide-confined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs); semiconductor lasers; semiconductor-device modeling; vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers;
Journal_Title :
Lightwave Technology, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JLT.2005.858210
