VISIBLE (657 NM) INGAP/INALGAP STRAINED QUANTUM-WELL VERTICAL-CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING LASER

We report the first visible (657 nm) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. The photopumped undoped structure was grown using low-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy in a single-growth sequence on misoriented GaAs substrates. The optical cavity consists of an In0.54Ga0.46P/In0.48(Al0.7Ga0.3)0.52 P strained quantum-well active region and a lattice-matched In0.48(AlyGa1-y)0.52 P (0.7 less-than-or-equal-to y less-than-or-equal-to 1.0) graded spacer region, while the distributed Bragg reflectors are composed of Al0.5Ga0.5As/AlAs quarter-wave stacks. Room-temperature optically pumped lasing was achieved with a very low-threshold power, clearly demonstrating the viability of this new technology. These results provide the foundation for visible semiconductor laser-diode arrays for a number of applications including laser projection displays, holographic memories, and plastic fiber communication.