A semiconductor vertical light source includes upper and lower mirrors with an active region in between, an inner mode confinement region, and an outer current blocking region that includes a common epitaxial layer including an epitaxially regrown interface between the active region and upper mirror. A conducting channel including acceptors is in the inner mode confinement region. The current blocking region includes a first impurity doped region with donors between the epitaxially regrown interface and active region, and a second impurity doped region with acceptors between the first doped region and lower mirror. The outer current blocking region provides a PNPN current blocking region that includes the upper mirror or a p-type layer, first doped region, second doped region, and lower mirror or an n-type layer. The first and second impurity doped region force current flow into the conducting channel during normal operation of the light source.

A VCSEL includes an active region between a top distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and a bottom DBR each having alternating GaAs and AlGaAs layers. The active region includes quantum wells (QW) confined between top and bottom GaAs-containing current-spreading layers (CSL), an aperture layer having an optical aperture and a tunnel junction layer above the QW. A GaAs intermediate layer configured to have an open top air gap is disposed over a boundary layer of the active region and the top DBR. The air gap is made wider than the optical aperture and has a height equal to one quarter of VCSEL's emission wavelength in air. The top DBR is attached to the intermediate layer by applying wafer bonding techniques. VCSEL output, the air gap, and the optical aperture are aligned on the same optical axis. The bottom DBR is epitaxially grown on a silicon or a GaAs substrate.

Aspects of the subject technology relate to an apparatus for self-mixing particulate-matter sensing using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with extrinsic photodiodes. The apparatus includes a dual-emitting light source disposed on a first chip and to generate a first light beam and a second light beam. The first light beam illuminates a particulate matter (PM), and a light detector extrinsic to the first chip measures the second light beam and variations of the second light beam and generates a self-mixing signal. The variations of the second light beam are caused by a back-scattered light resulting from back-scattering of the first light beam from the PM. The light detector is coupled to the dual-emitting light source. The direction of the second light beam is opposite to the direction of the first light beam, and the second light beam is directed to a sensitive area of the light detector.

A VCSEL can include: an elliptical oxide aperture in an oxidized region that is located between an active region and an emission surface, the elliptical aperture having a short radius and a long radius with a radius ratio (short radius)/(long radius) being between 0.6 and 0.8, the VCSEL having a relative intensity noise (RIN) of less than −140 dB/Hz. The VCSEL can include an elliptical emission aperture having the same dimensions of the elliptical oxide aperture. The VCSEL can include an elliptical contact having an elliptical contact aperture therein, the elliptical contact being around the elliptical emission aperture. The elliptical contact can be C-shaped. The VCSEL can include one or more trenches lateral of the oxidized region, the one or more trenches forming an elliptical shape, wherein the oxidized region has an elliptical shape. The one or more trenches can be trapezoidal shaped trenches.

In an embodiment, a device includes: a first reflective structure including first doped layers of a semiconductive material, alternating ones of the first doped layers being doped with a p-type dopant; a second reflective structure including second doped layers of the semiconductive material, alternating ones of the second doped layers being doped with a n-type dopant; an emitting semiconductor region disposed between the first reflective structure and the second reflective structure; a contact pad on the second reflective structure, a work function of the contact pad being less than a work function of the second reflective structure; a bonding layer on the contact pad, a work function of the bonding layer being greater than the work function of the second reflective structure; and a conductive connector on the bonding layer.

A vertical cavity surface emitting laser includes a first laminate including first semiconductor layers having a first Al composition, and second semiconductor layers having a second Al composition greater than the first Al composition; a current confinement structure including a current aperture and a current blocker; a first compound semiconductor layer adjacent to the current confinement structure; and a second compound semiconductor layer adjacent to the first laminate and the first compound semiconductor layer. The first compound semiconductor layer has a first aluminum profile changing monotonously in a direction from the first laminate to the current confinement structure from a first minimum Al composition within a range greater than the first Al composition and smaller than the second Al composition to a first maximum Al composition. The second compound semiconductor layer has an Al composition greater than the first Al composition and smaller than the first maximum Al composition.

A laser arrangement includes a VCSEL array comprising multiple VCSELs arranged on a common semiconductor substrate, an optical structure, and a diffusor structure. The optical structure is arranged to reduce a divergence angle of laser light emitted by each respective VCSEL to a section of the diffusor structure assigned to the respective VCSEL. The diffusor structure is arranged to transform the laser light received from the optical structure to transformed laser light such that a continuous illumination pattern is configured to be provided in a reference plane in a defined field-of-view. The diffusor structure is arranged to increase a size of the illumination pattern in comparison to an untransformed illumination pattern which can be provided without the diffusor structure. The VCSEL array, optical structure, and diffusor structure are arranged such that sections of the diffusor structure do not overlap. Diffusor properties of the diffusor structure vary across the diffusor structure.

Provided is a high-power vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode (VCSEL), including a first epitaxial region, an active region and a second epitaxial region. One of the first epitaxial region and the second epitaxial region is an N-type epitaxial region, and the other of the first epitaxial region and the second epitaxial region includes a PN junction. The PN junction includes a P-type epitaxial layer, a tunnel junction and an N-type epitaxial layer. The tunnel junction is located between the P-type epitaxial layer and the N-type epitaxial layer, and the P-type epitaxial layer of the PN junction is closest to the active region.

Aspects of the subject technology relate to an apparatus for self-mixing particulate-matter sensing using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with extrinsic photodiodes. The apparatus includes a dual-emitting light source disposed on a first chip and to generate a first light beam and a second light beam. The first light beam illuminates a particulate matter (PM), and a light detector extrinsic to the first chip measures the second light beam and variations of the second light beam and generates a self-mixing signal. The variations of the second light beam are caused by a back-scattered light resulting from back-scattering of the first light beam from the PM. The light detector is coupled to the dual-emitting light source. The direction of the second light beam is opposite to the direction of the first light beam, and the second light beam is directed to a sensitive area of the light detector.

A surface emitting laser includes a substrate, a plurality of surface emitting laser elements on a first surface of the substrate, a first electrode electrically connected to a first conductive semiconductor of the surface emitting laser elements; and a second electrode electrically connected to a second conductive semiconductor of the surface emitting laser elements. Each of the surface emitting laser elements includes a first reflecting mirror on the substrate; an active layer on the first reflecting mirror; and a second reflecting mirror on the active layer. When a first contact region in which the first electrode and the first conductive semiconductor are connected to each other is on the first surface or in the first conductive semiconductor of the surface emitting laser elements. The first electrode is electrically connected to the light emitting units. The second electrode is electrically connected to each of the light emitting units.