A miniature illuminator is described which is suitable for assembly into mobile electronics devices such as cell phones and computer tablets. Features of the invention overcome the complexity of current miniature illuminators by using single molded structure which includes all the electrical feedthrough connections and has the features necessary for accurate mounting of optical components. The molded structure includes laser safety connections which provide an electrical interrupt signal when the illuminator is damaged in a way that could result in propagation of non-eye safe illuminator beams. In an alternate operation the illuminator provides a signal when a subject gets too close to the illuminator and would receive unsafe VCSEL illuminator beam. The laser safety feature is integrated into the molded Illuminator package so that separate electrically connected structures to achieve this function are eliminated.

Laser diodes formed on a common substrate with layers of suitable thickness and refractive indices produce output beams that are coherently coupled. A phase mask can be situated to produce phase differences in one or more of the output beams to produce a common wavefront phase. The phase-corrected beams propagate with reduced angular divergence than conventional lasers that are not coherently coupled, and the coherently coupled laser diodes can provide higher beam brightness, enhanced beam parameter product, and superior power coupled into doped fibers in fiber lasers.

A reflector includes a low refractive index layer and a high refractive index layer. The low refractive index layer has a first average refractive index and has a laminated structure in which an AlN layer and a GaN layer are alternately laminated. The high refractive index layer has a second average refractive index higher than the first average refractive index and includes an InGaN layer.

A group III-nitride semiconductor device comprises a light emitting semiconductor structure comprising a p-type layer and an n-type layer operable as a light emitting diode or laser. On top of the p-type layer there is arranged an n+ or n++-type layer of a group III-nitride, which is transparent to the light emitted from the underlying semiconductor structure and of sufficiently high electrical conductivity to provide lateral spreading of injection current for the light-emitting semiconductor structure.

A light emitting component includes plural transfer elements, plural setting thyristors, and plural light emitting elements. The transfer elements are configured to be sequentially brought into an ON state. The setting thyristors are connected to the transfer elements, respectively. The setting thyristors are configured to be brought into a state where the setting thyristors are capable of changing to the ON state when the transfer elements are brought into the ON state. The light emitting elements are stacked on the setting thyristors through tunnel junctions, respectively. The light emitting elements are configured to emit light of increase a light emission amount when the setting thyristors are brought into the ON state.

A high-speed, single-mode, high power, reliable and manufacturable wavelength-tunable light source operative to emit wavelength tunable radiation over a wavelength range contained in a wavelength span between about 950 nm and about 1150 nm, including a vertical cavity laser (VCL), the VCL having a gain region with at least one compressively strained quantum well containing Indium, Gallium, and Arsenic.

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) configurations are disclosed. In a first example, the VCSEL includes a III-Nitride active region between a p-type III-Nitride layer and an n-type III-Nitride layer; and a curved minor on or above the p-type III-Nitride layer. The curved mirror can be formed in a III-Nitride layer or a Transparent Oxide (TO) material and enables the formation of a long VCSEL cavity that improves VCSEL lifetime, VCSEL output power, VCSEL power efficiency and VCSEL reliability. In a second example, the VCSEL has an active region with a high indium content. In a third example, the VCSEL is transparent.

In one embodiment, a lidar system includes a multi junction light source configured to emit an optical signal. The multi junction light source includes a seed laser diode configured to produce a seed optical signal and a multi junction semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) configured to amplify the seed optical signal to produce the emitted optical signal. The lidar system also includes a receiver configured to detect a portion of the emitted optical signal scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system. The lidar system further includes a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based on a round-trip time for the portion of the scattered optical signal to travel from the lidar system to the target and back to the lidar system.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array may include an n-type substrate layer and an n-type metal on a bottom surface of the n-type substrate layer. The n-type metal may form a common anode for a group of VCSEL. The VCSEL array may include a bottom mirror structure on a top surface of the n-type substrate layer. The bottom mirror structure may include one or more bottom mirror sections and a tunnel junction to reverse a carrier type within the bottom mirror structure. The VCSEL array may include an active region on the bottom mirror structure and an oxidation layer to provide optical and electrical confinement. The VCSEL array may include an n-type top mirror on the active region, a top contact layer over the n-type top mirror, and a top metal on the top contact layer. The top metal may form an isolated cathode for the VCSEL array.

Several VCSEL devices for long wavelength applications in wavelength range of 1200-1600 nm are described. These devices include an active region between a semiconductor DBR on a GaAs wafer and a dielectric DBR regrown on the active region. The active region includes multi-quantum layers (MQLs) confined between the active n-InP and p-InAlAs layers and a tunnel junction layer above the MQLs. The semiconductor DBR is fused to the bottom of the active region by a wafer bonding process. The design simplifies integrating the reflectors and the active region stack by having only one wafer bonding followed by regrowth of the other layers including the dielectric DBR. An air gap is fabricated either in an n-InP layer of the active region or in an air gap spacer layer on top of the semiconductor DBR. The air gap enhances optical confinement of the VCSEL. The air gap may also contain a grating.