Disclosed is an optically pumped vertical cavity laser structure operating in the mid-infrared region, which has demonstrated room-temperature continuous wave operation. This structure uses a periodic gain active region with type I quantum wells comprised of InGaAsSb, and barrier/cladding regions which provide strong hole confinement and substantial pump absorption. A preferred embodiment includes at least one wafer bonded GaAs-based mirror. Several preferred embodiments also include means for wavelength tuning of mid-IR VCLs as disclosed, including a MEMS-tuning element. This document also includes systems for optical spectroscopy using the VCL as disclosed, including systems for detection concentrations of industrial and environmentally important gases.

A Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) includes a reflecting surface of the VCSEL. A gain region is positioned on the distributed Bragg reflector that generates optical gain. The gain region comprises a first and second multiple quantum well stack, a tunnel junction positioned between the first and second multiple quantum well stack, and a current aperture positioned on one of the first and second multiple quantum well stack. The current aperture confines a current flow in the gain region. A partially reflective surface and the reflective surface forming a VCSEL resonant cavity, wherein an output optical beam propagates from the partially reflecting surface.

A proximity sensor which uses very narrow divergent beams from Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) for the illumination source is disclosed. Narrow divergent beams in the range 0.5 to 10 degrees can be achieved to provide high proximity sensing accuracy in a small footprint assembly. One approach to reducing the beam divergence is to increase the length of the VCSEL resonant cavity using external third mirror. A second embodiment extends the length of the VCSEL cavity by modifying the DBR mirrors and the gain region. Optical microlenses can be coupled with the VCSEL to collimate the output beam and reduce the beam divergence. These can be separate optical elements or integrated with the VCEL by modifying the substrate output surface profile or an added a transparent layer. These methods of beam divergence reduction are incorporated into various embodiment configurations to produce a miniature proximity sensor suitable for cell phones and tablets.

The present technology provides a surface emitting laser capable of reducing a voltage drop at a tunnel junction.

The present technology provides a surface emitting laser including: first and second multilayer film reflectors (102, 112) laminated together; a plurality of active layers laminated together between the first and second multilayer film reflectors (102, 112); and a tunnel junction (107) disposed between first and second active layers (104, 110) adjacent to each other in a lamination direction among the plurality of active layers, in which the tunnel junction (107) includes an n-type semiconductor layer (107b) and a p-type semiconductor layer (107a) laminated together, and the p-type semiconductor layer (107a) includes first and second p-type semiconductor regions (107a1, 107a2) laminated together.

Disclosed are a micro VCSEL with improved beam quality and a micro VCSEL array. An embodiment of the present invention provides a micro VCSEL with improved beam quality of light or laser to be oscillated and a micro VCSEL array capable of improving manufacturing efficiency and minimizing efficiency degradation due to errors occurring during a transfer.

The present technology provides a surface emitting laser capable of suppressing a decrease in luminous efficiency.

The present technology provides a surface emitting laser including: first and second multilayer film reflectors; a plurality of active layers laminated together between the first and second multilayer film reflectors; a tunnel junction disposed between two active layers adjacent to each other in a lamination direction among the plurality of active layers; and an oxide confinement layer disposed between one active layer of the two adjacent active layers and the tunnel junction. According to the present technology, it is possible to provide a surface emitting laser capable of suppressing a decrease in luminous efficiency.

A mode locking semiconductor disk laser (SDL) comprising a resonator terminated by first and second mirrors and folded by a third mirror is presented. The third mirror includes a semiconductor disk laser (SDL) suitable for generating a resonator field having a predetermined central wavelength .sub.0, while the second mirror includes an intensity saturable mirror suitable for mode locking the resonator field at the predetermined wavelength. The central wavelength of the reflectivity profile of the first and or second mirrors is shifted to a wavelength shorter than the central wavelength .sub.0 to suppress gain at wavelengths longer than the central wavelength .sub.0. By mismatching the reflectivity profile of the first and or second mirrors to that of the desired output wavelength provides a stable mode locked laser with significantly reduced noise.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is provided that includes a mesa structure disposed on a substrate. The mesa structure defines an emission axis of the VCSEL. The mesa structure includes a first reflector, a second reflector, and a cascaded active region structure disposed between the first reflector and the second reflector. The cascaded active region structure includes a plurality of cascaded active region layers disposed along the emission axis, where each of the cascade active region layers includes an active region having multi-quantum well and/or dots layers (MQLs), a tunnel junction aligned with the emission axis, and an oxide confinement layer. The oxide confinement layer is disposed between the tunnel junction and MQLs, and has an electrical current aperture defined therein. The mesa structure defines an optical window through which the VCSEL is configured to emit light.

External cavity laser systems are described that can operate with essentially no mode hopping. One example configuration of the laser system includes a semiconductor laser device, a folded cavity external to the semiconductor laser device, where at the semiconductor laser device is positioned at a fold in the folded cavity. In this configuration, at least one mirror is positioned in the folded cavity to enable sustained propagation of light within the folded cavity, and at least two polarization elements are positioned in the folded external cavity. The polarization elements cause a polarization state of the light that impinges in different directions on each semiconductor laser device that is positioned at a fold to be orthogonal to one another, thus eliminating or substantially reducing mode hopping in the laser output.

Disclosed is a multi junction bottom emitting vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VC SEL) including: an electrical n-contact layer; a semiconductor substrate disposed on the electrical n-contact layer; an etch-stop layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a n-type semiconductor distributed Bragg reflector (nDBR) including a first plurality of layers of semiconductor material disposed on the etch-stop layer; a laser cavity having a plurality of active region disposed on the nDBR; a hybrid metal-semiconductor reflector disposed on the laser cavity; wherein the hybrid metal-semiconductor reflector is a p-type semiconductor distributed Bragg reflector (pDBR) including a second plurality of layers of semiconductor material, a phase matching layer disposed on the pDBR and a metallic reflector disposed on the phase matching layer; and an electrical p-contact layer formed on the hybrid metal-semiconductor reflector.