A high speed spatial light modulators are described. In one non-limiting example, an optical phased array structure comprises a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) that provides a light beam and a phase delay unit that includes a bi-layer photonic crystal slab. The bi-layer photonic crystal slab (PCS) is attached to the VCSEL and comprises two silicon PCS layers separated by a dielectric layer. The optical phased array structure is configured to control a direction of the light beam by a voltage applied to the phase delay unit. By incorporating a dispersive layer (e.g. graphene), the absorption of the structure can be modulated and accordingly the reflection of the surface can be modulated as well.

The light emitting device includes a substrate, and a laminated structure provided to the substrate, and including a plurality of columnar parts, wherein the columnar part includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer different in conductivity type from the first semiconductor layer, and a light emitting layer disposed between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, the laminated structure includes a third semiconductor layer which is connected to an opposite side to the substrate of the second semiconductor layer, and is same in conductivity type as the second semiconductor layer, the second semiconductor layer is disposed between the light emitting layer and the third semiconductor layer, the third semiconductor layer is provided with a recessed part, an opening of the recessed part is provided to a surface at an opposite side to the substrate side of the third semiconductor layer, and a diametrical size in a bottom of the recessed part is smaller than a diametrical size in the opening of the recessed part.

An on-chip miniarray of optically-coupled oxide-confined apertures of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) is realized by etching holes from the chip surface down to at least one aperture layer. Oxidation of the aperture layer results in electrically-isolated apertures suitable for current injection. The lateral distance between the aperture centers and the shape of the aperture is chosen to result in effective interaction of the neighboring optical modes in the related aperture regions through optical field coupling effect causing the interaction-induced splitting of the wavelengths of the optical modes. At least one aperture has a different surface area due to different spacing of the etched holes. Different aperture sizes result in different wavelengths of the coupled modes. Splitting of the cavity modes in a frequency domain 3-100 GHz extends the modulation bandwidth of the device due to photon-photon interaction effects.

Selective deposition of highly reflective coating and/or anti-reflecting coating over apertures of different VCSELs foiining a miniarray allows stabilizing lasing in a single coherent mode of the array. Most preferably, highly reflective coating covers the largest aperture and stabilizes the fundamental mode of the coherent array. Anti-reflecting coatings can be deposited on at least one other aperture to reduce the photon lifetime and increase the homogeneous broadening of the related resonant wavelength. Consequently broadening of the photon-photon interaction resonances between the cavity modes can be controlled. Such resonance broadening allows control over the shape of the current modulation curve of the miniarray of VCSELs with the frequency maximum defined by the splitting of the cavity modes and the broadening defined by the broadening of the photon resonances. An increase in −3dB modulation bandwidth of the VCSEL miniarray up to at least 70 GHz is possible.

Such miniarray of VCSELs enables efficient coupling of the emitted light to a multimode optical fiber with the efficiency of at least 70%.

A VCSEL device includes an N-type metal substrate and laser-emitting units on the N-type metal substrate. Each laser-emitting unit includes an N-type contact layer in contact with the N-type metal substrate; an N-type Bragg reflector layer in contact with the N-type contact layer; a P-type Bragg reflector layer above the N-type Bragg reflector layer; an active emitter layer between the P-type Bragg reflector layer and the N-type Bragg reflector layer; a current restriction layer between the active emitter layer and the P-type Bragg reflector layer; a P-type contact layer in contact with the P-type Bragg reflector layer; and an insulation sidewall surrounding all edges of the N-type and P-type Bragg reflector layers, the N-type and P-type contact layers, the active emitter layer and the current restriction layer. A P-type metal substrate has through holes each aligned with a current restriction hole of a corresponding laser-emitting unit.

An emitter may include a substrate, a conductive layer on at least a bottom surface of a trench, and a first metal layer to provide a first electrical contact of the emitter on an epitaxial side of the substrate. The first metal layer may be within the trench such that the first metal layer contacts the conductive layer within the trench. The emitter may further include a second metal layer to provide a second electrical contact of the emitter on the epitaxial side of the substrate, and an isolation implant to block lateral current flow between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

A plasmonic laser array device may comprise a first microcavity element having a first radiating end facet and a second radiating end facet opposite the first radiating end facet in a longitudinal direction of the device. The device may comprise a second microcavity element having a third radiating end facet and a fourth radiating end facet opposite the third radiating facet in the longitudinal direction. The device may comprise a first microcavity gap configured to separate the first microcavity element and the second microcavity element in the longitudinal direction. The device may comprise a bottom (e.g., metal) layer configured to underly the first microcavity element, the second microcavity element, and the first microcavity gap. The device may comprise an arrangement that places the first microcavity element and the second microcavity element into a phase-locked orientation for a phased-locked operation of the plasmonic laser array device.

A semiconductor laser is provided that includes a semiconductor layer sequence and electrical contact surfaces. The semiconductor layer sequence includes a waveguide with an active zone. Furthermore, the semiconductor layer sequence includes a first and a second cladding layer, between which the waveguide is located. At least one oblique facet is formed on the semiconductor layer sequence, which has an angle of 45° to a resonator axis with a tolerance of at most 10°. This facet forms a reflection surface towards the first cladding layer for laser radiation generated during operation. A maximum thickness of the first cladding layer is between 0.5 M/n and 10 M/n at least in a radiation passage region, wherein n is the average refractive index of the first cladding layer and M is the vacuum wavelength of maximum intensity of the laser radiation.

A laser diode, comprising a transverse waveguide that is orthogonal to the lateral waveguide comprising an active layer between an n-type waveguide layer and a p-type waveguide layer, wherein the transverse waveguide is bounded by an n-type cladding layer on an n-side and p-type cladding layer on a p-side and a lateral waveguide bounded in a longitudinal direction at a first end by a high reflector (HR) coated facet and at a second end by a partial reflector (PR) coated facet, the lateral waveguide further comprising a buried higher order mode suppression layer (HOMSL) disposed beneath the p-cladding within the lateral waveguide or on one or both sides of the lateral waveguide or a combination thereof, wherein the HOMSL extends in a longitudinal direction from the HR facet a length less than the distance between the HR facet and the PR facet.

A closely spaced emitter array may include a first emitter comprising a first plurality of structures and a second emitter, adjacent to the first emitter, comprising a second plurality of structures. The first emitter and the second emitter may be configured in the closely spaced emitter array such that different types of structures between the first plurality of structures and the second plurality of structures do not overlap while maintaining close spacing between the first emitter and the second emitter.

An embodiment relates to a light source module dynamically controlling a phase distribution of light. The light source module includes a semiconductor stack portion. The semiconductor stack portion includes a stacked body including an active layer and a photonic crystal layer causing Γ-point oscillation, and includes a phase synchronization portion and an intensity modulation portion which are arranged in a Y-direction as one resonance direction of the photonic crystal layer. The stacked body in the intensity modulation portion has M (≥2) pixels each arranged in an X-direction and including N.sub.1 (≥2) subpixels. A length of a region including consecutive N.sub.2 (≥2, ≤N.sub.1) subpixels among the N.sub.1 subpixels, defined in the X-direction, is smaller than an emission wavelength of the active layer. The light source module outputs laser light from each M pixel included in the intensity modulation portion in a direction intersecting both X- and Y-directions.