A laser array includes a plurality of laser diodes arranged and electrically connected to one another on a surface of a non-native substrate. Respective laser diodes of the plurality of laser diodes have different orientations relative to one another on the surface of the non-native substrate. The respective laser diodes are configured to provide coherent light emission in different directions, and the laser array is configured to emit an incoherent output beam comprising the coherent light emission from the respective laser diodes. The output beam may include incoherent light having a non-uniform intensity distribution over a field of view of the laser array. Related devices and fabrication methods are also discussed.

A method for determining operating conditions of a particle detector that includes a multimode Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) includes providing an electrical drive current to the multimode VCSEL such that a laser beam is emitted by the multimode VCSEL and varying the electrical drive current within a predefined range of electrical drive currents. The method further includes determining, as a function of the electrical drive current, an intensity signal of an optical wave within a laser cavity of the multimode VCSEL, determining, as a function of the electrical drive current, a noise measure of the intensity signal, determining a range of electrical drive currents for which the noise measure is below a predefined threshold noise measure value, and determining operating conditions of the particle detector by choosing an electrical drive current for particle detection out of the determined low noise range of electrical drive currents.

A light emitting component includes: a substrate; a plural light emitting elements that are provided on the substrate and respectively have light emission regions; and a plural thyristors that are turned on to cause the light emission regions of the respective light emitting elements to emit light, or that increase amounts of emitted light of the light emission regions, in which the light emitting elements absorb light emitted from a corresponding thyristor among the plural thyristors.

A self-mixing interferometric, SMI, laser sensor comprises a vertical cavity surface emitting laser, VCSEL, configured to emit laser radiation, the VCSEL comprising a first distributed Bragg reflector, DBR, a second DBR and a cavity region including an active light generation region, wherein the cavity region is arranged in a layer structure between a front side of the first DBR and a back side of the second DBR. Therein at least one of the first and second DBR comprises a first contrast region and a second contrast region, the first contrast region having a first refractive index contrast n.sub.1 regarding an emission wavelength of the VCSEL and the second contrast region having a second refractive index contrast n.sub.2/n larger than the first refractive index contrast n.sub.1/n.

The present invention relates to a laser sensor for self-mixing interferometry. The laser sensor comprises at least one semiconductor laser light source emitting laser radiation and at least one photodetector (6) monitoring the laser radiation of the laser light source. The laser light source is a VECSEL having a gain medium (3) arranged in a layer structure (15) on a front side of a first end mirror (4), said first end mirror (4) forming an external cavity with an external second end mirror (5). The proposed laser sensor provides an increased detection range and can be manufactured in a low-cost production process.

A laser array includes a plurality of laser emitters arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns on a substrate that is non-native to the plurality of laser emitters, and a plurality of driver transistors on the substrate adjacent one or more of the laser diodes. A subset of the plurality of laser emitters includes a string of laser emitters that are connected such that an anode of at least one laser emitter of the subset is connected to a cathode of an adjacent laser emitter of the subset. A driver transistor of the plurality of driver transistors is configured to control a current flowing through the string.

A system and method for generating, enhancing, and detecting the amplitude and phase modulation of a laser under a condition of self-mixing is provided. The system may comprise a laser and a detector to extract the characteristic self-mix signal, which is then interpreted using algorithms implemented in hardware or software. In the case of the laser being a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting laser (VCSEL), the output signal can be detected by monitoring the surface light emission by means of a beam splitter, or in some embodiments as emission from the bottom surface of the laser. In some embodiments, the system may further comprise a wavelength filter such as an etalon in the signal path.

Disclosed herein are electronic devices having touch input surfaces. A user's touch input or press on the touch input surface is detected using a set of lasers, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that emit beams of light toward the touch input surface. The user's touch causes changes in the self-mixing interference within the VCSEL of the emitted light with reflected light, such as from the touch input surface. Deflection and movement (e.g., drag motion) of the user's touch is determined from detected changes in the VCSELs' operation due to the self-mixing interference.

A photonic crystal laser and a strain measuring device are provided. The photonic crystal laser includes a disk-shaped photonic crystal structure two-dimensionally disposed in a matrix on a disposition plane and a flexible substrate disposed to support the photonic crystal structure and to cover at least a side surface of the photonic crystal structure.

A pressure sensing device including a light source, at least one resonant structure, a cladding body, a first substrate and a second substrate is provided. The light source is configured to provide an original broadband light. The resonant structure includes a plurality of semiconductor rod structures arranged into a row at intervals along a single arranging direction, and each of the semiconductor rod structures has a lattice constant on the arranging direction. The original broadband light is transmitted between the semiconductor rod structures, and a resonant light is produced, wherein each of the semiconductor rod structures has a length perpendicular to the arranging direction and has a width parallel to the arranging direction, the length and the width are less than the wavelength of the resonant light. The cladding body completely covers the semiconductor rod structures of the at least one resonant structure. The cladding body and the at least one resonant structure are interposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. When a pressure is applied on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate, the pressure is transmitted to the cladding body along a direction perpendicular to the arranging direction, a deformation corresponding to the pressure is occurred on the cladding body and the semiconductor rod structures on the arranging direction, and a wavelength of the resonant light is changed according to the deformation. Besides, a pressure sensing apparatus is also provided.