EFFICIENT CONTINUOUS WAVE OPERATION OF VERTICAL-CAVITY SEMICONDUCTOR-LASERS USING BURIED-COMPENSATION LAYERS TO OPTIMIZE CURRENT FLOW

The lateral definition of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) using buried ion implantation and the optimization of this process are described. A VCSEL structure was grown, and lasers were laterally defined using deep proton implantation process. The buried implantation process created a funnel shape current path into the laser active region. By optimizing this process, a serial resistance of 50-OMEGA, 2.1 mW continuous wave output power and a 1 V lower "turn on" voltage were achieved for an optimum dose of 1 X 10(13) ions/cm2 for 10 X 10-mu-m2 lasers. These improvements were achieved, while retaining the same low threshold current level of fully confined VCSELs.