A light emitting device has a first mirror; and one or more active regions with a first active region adjacent to the first mirror. Each of active region includes quantum wells and barriers, and is surrounded by one or more p-n junctions. The active regions have a selected shape structure each with a tunnel junction (TJ). One or more apertures are provided with the selected shape structure; one or more buried tunnel junctions (BTJ), additional TJ's, planar structures and/or additional BTJ's, created during a regrowth process that is independent of a first growth process of the first mirror as well as the active region and the one or more TJs. One or more electrical confinement apertures are defined by the one or more BTJ's, additional TJ's, planar structures and/or additional BTJ's. A vertical resonator cavity is disposed over the electrical confinement aperture. A high contrast grating (HCG) operates as a second mirror positioned over the vertical resonator cavity. The HCG is configured to reflect a first portion of light back into the vertical resonator cavity, and a second portion of the light as an output beam from the VCSEL. The HCG structure is layered on the selected shape structure. A shape of the output beam of the light emitting device is determined by a geometric shape of the one or more BTJ apertures, apertures for additional TJ's, planar structures and/or additional BTJ's, with a transmission function of the HCG. The shape is designed according to the desired optical transmission function of the application.

A tunable laser device is provided. The tunable laser device includes an active layer configured to generate first light by a first source; first and second reflective layers spaced apart from each other having the active layer disposed between the first reflective layer and the second reflective layer to form a resonance cavity; and a variable refractive index unit in the resonance cavity and having a refractive index being variable according to a second source, the second source being different from the first source.

A QCL may include a substrate, an emitting facet, and semiconductor layers adjacent the substrate and defining an active region. The active region may have a longitudinal axis canted at an oblique angle to the emitting facet of the substrate. The QCL may include an optical grating being adjacent the active region and configured to emit one of a CW laser output or a pulsed laser output through the emitting facet of substrate.

A device comprises a substrate, a sacrificial material layer over the substrate, a first solid-state material layer over the sacrificial layer, a dielectric layer over solid-state material layer, and a second solid-state material layer over the dielectric layer. The sacrificial material layer may have an airgap, the solid-state material layer may comprise a structure over the airgap and may be separated from a bulk portion of the first material layer by trenches, where the trenches extend to the airgap.

A QCL may include a substrate, an emitting facet, and semiconductor layers adjacent the substrate and defining an active region. The active region may have a longitudinal axis canted at an oblique angle to the emitting facet of the substrate. The QCL may include an optical grating being adjacent the active region and configured to emit one of a CW laser output or a pulsed laser output through the emitting facet of substrate.

Provided herein are systems and methods for switching the generation of light emissions using charge separation in a gain medium to manipulate carrier lifetimes. For a given output pulse energy, extended carrier lifetimes may allow carrier generation powers to be reduced and/or carrier generation times to be extended. L-switching of light output from a gain medium may be combined with other switching schemes utilizing different approaches to control lasing, such as Q-switching.

A tunable wavelength laser comprising a laser cavity formed by a broadband mirror and a comb mirror. The laser cavity comprising a gain region. The laser cavity is configured such that a non-integer number of cavity modes of the laser cavity are between two consecutive reflection peaks of the comb mirror.

A tunable laser device is provided. The tunable laser device includes an active layer configured to generate first light by a first source; first and second reflective layers spaced apart from each other having the active layer disposed between the first reflective layer and the second reflective layer to form a resonance cavity; and a variable refractive index unit in the resonance cavity and having a refractive index being variable according to a second source, the second source being different from the first source.

An electro-optic (EO) sensor and a method for detecting a local electric field strength, the EO sensor including: a first optical cavity; a gain medium within the first optical cavity; a mode locking element within the first optical cavity; and an EO material within the first optical cavity, an effective optical path length of the EO material being variable depending on the local electric field strength at the EO sensor, wherein the gain medium, the mode locking element, and the EO material are arranged in a common path of light within the first optical cavity, and wherein during operation, the EO sensor emits pulses of light at a repetition rate characteristic of an effective optical path length of the light within the first optical cavity, the effective optical path length varying depending on the electric field strength local to the EO sensor.

A tunable wavelength laser comprising a laser cavity formed by a broadband mirror and a comb mirror. The laser cavity comprising a gain region. The laser cavity is configured such that a non-integer number of cavity modes of the laser cavity are between two consecutive reflection peaks of the comb mirror.