A MEMS tunable VCSEL includes a membrane device having a mirror and a distal-side electrostatic cavity for displacing the mirror to increase a size of an optical cavity. A VCSEL device includes an active region for amplifying light. Then, a proximal-side electrostatic cavity is defined between the VCSEL device and the membrane device is used to displace the mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity.

A vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) based system in a linear single cavity configuration is configured to deliver light in higher-order Hermite-Gaussian transverse modes with Watt-level output power. Simultaneous and independent lasing of spatially-restructurable multiple high-order transverse modes that are collinearly-propagating at the output of such laser cavity is facilitated with the use of an optical pumping scheme devised to control positions of location at which the gain medium of the system is pumped (e.g., locations of focal spots of multiple pump beams on the gain-medium chip). An external astigmatic mode converter is utilized to convert such high-order Hermite-Gaussian modes into corresponding Laguerre-Gaussian modes.

A very strong selection mechanism is provided in a tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) by manipulating the laser threshold to be different for TE and TM polarization by a employing a subwavelength grating in the laser cavity. The laser selects the polarization with the lowest threshold. The grating does not diffract and does not add loss to the cavity. It works by creating a large birefringence layer between the semiconductor and air sub-cavities of the full VCSEL. Multilayer stack calculations show that this results in a lower threshold for the TM polarization over the TE. This subwavelength grating layer, in one embodiment, replaces the AR coating on the semiconductor surface.

The invention relates to a SLED device emitting light from a substrate side, configured to suppress lasing, and comprising a reflective element (55) on a front surface of a substrate (22) configured to redirect an optical beam (light) onto a back surface of the substrate (22). In one embodiment the device can be used for making a compact RGB (red-green-blue) projector.

The subject invention includes a semiconductor laser with the laser having a DBR mirror on a substrate, a quantum well on the DBR mirror, and an interior CGH with a back propagated output for emitting a large sized Gaussian and encircling high energy. The DBR mirror has a plurality of GaAs/AlGaAs layers, while the quantum well is composed of AlGaAs/InGaAs. The CGH is composed of AlGaAs.

A method, system and an apparatus for hybrid optical and electrical pumping of semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) improves reliability at high operating temperatures. The semiconductor laser or LED is biased via optical pumping and a relatively small electrical modulation current modulates the laser. At low modulation speeds, the modulation current is substantially lower than that required for biasing the laser or directly modulating it at high speeds. The lifetime of the laser is improved by substantially reducing the operating current, enabling laser lifetimes adequate for operation in many applications, such as deep-hole oil drilling and jet engine control, where operation is not currently possible.

A vertical external-cavity surface-emitting laser includes: a resonator comprising at least two mirrors; a semiconductor laser medium disposed in the resonator; and a Q switch provided in the resonator.

A process for fabricating an optoelectronic device for emitting infrared radiation, including: i) producing a first stack containing a light source, and a first bonding sublayer made from a metal of interest chosen from gold, titanium and copper, ii) producing a second stack containing a GeSn-based active layer obtained by epitaxy at an epitaxy temperature (T.sub.epi), and a second bonding sublayer made from the metal of interest, iii) determining an assembly temperature (Tc) substantially between an ambient temperature (T.sub.amb) and the epitaxy temperature (T.sub.epi), such that a direct bonding energy per unit area of the metal of interest is higher than or equal to 0.5 J/m.sup.2; and iv) joining, by direct bonding, at the assembly temperature (Tc), the stacks.

A tunable source includes a short-cavity laser optimized for performance and reliability in SSOCT imaging systems, spectroscopic detection systems, and other types of detection and sensing systems. The short cavity laser has a large free spectral range cavity, fast tuning response and single transverse, longitudinal and polarization mode operation, and includes embodiments for fast and wide tuning, and optimized spectral shaping. Disclosed are both electrical and optical pumping in a MEMS-VCSEL geometry with mirror and gain regions optimized for wide tuning, high output power, and a variety of preferred wavelength ranges; and a semiconductor optical amplifier, combined with the short-cavity laser to produce high-power, spectrally shaped operation. Several preferred imaging and detection systems make use of this tunable source for optimized operation are also disclosed.

A laser device for generating an optical wave including at least two frequencies, such laser device including: a first element including a gain region, a second mirror, distinct from the first element, and arranged so as to form with a first mirror an optical cavity including the gain region; means for pumping the gain region so as to generate the optical wave; means for shaping the light intensity of the optical wave arranged for selecting at least two transverse modes of the optical wave; and means for shaping the longitudinal and/or transversal phase profile of the optical wave and arranged for adjusting at least two transverse modes of the optical wave.