This disclosure provides methods and apparatuses for sorting target particles. In various embodiments, the disclosure provides a cassette for sorting target particles, methods for sorting target particles, methods of loading a microchannel for maintaining sample material viability, methods of quantifying sample material, and an optical apparatus for laser scanning and particle sorting.

A beam generating device includes a semiconductor substrate, having an optical passband. A first array of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is formed on a first face of the semiconductor substrate and are configured to emit respective laser beams through the substrate at a wavelength within the passband. A second array of microlenses is formed on a second face of the semiconductor substrate in respective alignment with the VCSELs so as to transmit the laser beams generated by the VCSELs. The VCSELs are configured to be driven to emit the laser beams in predefined groups in order to change a characteristic of the laser beams.

A structure light module comprises: a VCSEL substrate comprising a VCSEL array comprising a plurality of individual VCSELs; a first spacer disposed on the VCSEL substrate; a wafer level lens comprising a glass substrate and at least a replicated lens on a first surface of the glass substrate disposed on the first spacer; a second spacer disposes on the wafer level lens; a DOE disposed on the second spacer, where a structure light is projected from the DOE on a target surface for 3D imaging.

This disclosure describes a red-green-blue (RGB) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array. Each VCSEL in the VCSEL array has a grating, one or more active regions and two distributed Bragg reflectors. Each VCSEL corresponds to either red, green or blue wavelengths. The number of active regions in each VCSEL may be based on the color emitted.

Systems and methods disclosed herein include an illumination module for 3D sensing applications. The illumination module may include an array of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) emitting light, a driver configured to provide current to the array of VCSELs, and an optical element configured to receive the light emitted by the array of VCSELs and output a light pattern from the illumination module.

This disclosure describes a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) structure with a locked polarization and collimating optical element. The VCSEL structure comprises a grating, an optical emitter such as a lens and a plurality of GaAs/AlGaAs mirrors between the grating and the optical emitter. The grating located between the mirror stacks and above or below the active region is able to polarize incident waves of the VCSEL structure.

A method of fabrication of a micro-optics device included providing a layer of material; patterning the layer of material by one or more of: locally unzipping and desorbing molecules thereof, with a nano-scale dimensioned probe, to obtain a curved surface for the layer of material, the curved surface having a curved profile in a plane section; and completing a layer structure perpendicular to the plane section by providing one or more additional layers of material in contact with the curved surface to obtain the micro-optics device, wherein the micro-optics device has the layer structure, with a given layer thereof comprising a defect delimited by two surfaces, wherein one of the two surfaces is the curved surface.

A high contrast grating optoelectronic apparatus includes an optoelectronic device at a front surface of a substrate. The optoelectronic device is to one or both of emit light and detect light through a back surface of the substrate opposite the front surface. A high contrast grating (HCG) lens is adjacent to and spaced apart from the back surface of the substrate by a spacer. The spacer includes one or both of a wafer-bonded substrate and a cavity. The HCG lens is to focus the light.

A radiation source includes a semiconductor substrate, an array of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) formed on the substrate, which are configured to emit optical radiation, and a transparent crystalline layer formed over the array of VCSELs. The transparent crystalline layer has an outer surface configured to diffuse the radiation emitted by the VCSELs.

A bottom-emitting vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) structure includes a first substrate permitting the passage of light therethrough, an n-doped distributed Bragg reflector (nDBR), a p-doped distributed Bragg reflector (pDBR), one or more active layers, at least one of a high contrast grating mirror and a dielectric-enhanced metal mirror, and a plurality of layers, where the VCSEL structure is configured to be flip chipped to a second substrate. The pDBR and the nDBR define a laser cavity extending vertically therebetween and containing the one or more active layers. The at least one of a high contrast grating mirror and a dielectric-enhanced metal mirror may be disposed over the pDBR. The plurality of layers may be disposed over the at least one of the high contrast grating mirror and the dielectric-enhanced metal mirror to optically and hermetically seal the laser cavity.