An embodiment includes a light source. The light source may include a substrate and a diffuser. The substrate may include a first surface and a second surface. The second surface may be opposite the first surface. The diffuser may be carried by the substrate. The diffuser may be configured to receive an optical signal from the substrate after the optical signal propagates through the substrate and to control a particular profile of a resultant beam of the optical signal over two axes after the optical signal propagates through the integrated diffuser.

A surface-emitting semiconductor laser includes a first-conductivity-type layer, an active layer, and a second-conductivity-type layer. The active layer and the second-conductivity-type layer are electrically connected in a current constriction layer through an opening. The surface-emitting semiconductor laser further includes an insulating layer that has translucency with respect to an emission wavelength of the active layer, a first electrode electrically connected to the first-conductivity-type layer, and a second electrode electrically connected to the second-conductivity-type layer. In the surface-emitting semiconductor laser, a part of the insulating layer is exposed from the second electrode, and the insulating layer exposed from the second electrode includes a first portion that has a first thickness and a second portion that has a second thickness to make output of light emitted from the active layer smaller than the first portion in comparison with the first thickness and that surrounds the first portion.

[Object] To provide a light-emitting element that has a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser structure and is suitable for a long-distance light irradiation, and a ranging apparatus.

[Solving Means] A light-emitting element according to the present technology includes a plurality of light emitters, a first electrode terminal, and a second electrode terminal. The plurality of light emitters is a plurality of light emitters one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally arranged in a direction that is vertical to an optical axis corresponding to light that exits each of the plurality of light emitters, each of the plurality of light emitters being a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser element, each of the plurality of light emitters including a first electrode and a second electrode, each of the plurality of light emitters emitting the light due to current flowing from the first electrode to the second electrode. The first electrode terminal is electrically connected to the first electrode. The second electrode terminal is electrically connected to the second electrode. A current path from the first electrode terminal to the second electrode terminal that passes through one of the plurality of light emitters exhibits an electrical resistance different from an electrical resistance of a current path from the first electrode terminal to the second electrode terminal that passes through another of the plurality of light emitters.

A light-emitting device includes a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, the resonant cavity of which is transverse multimode supporting transverse modes having rotational symmetry of order two about a main optical axis, and an index-contrast grating including a plurality of pads. The pads include: a central pad, a plurality of peripheral pads, which are periodically arranged along one or more lines that are concentric with respect to the central pad, and which are arranged so that the grating has, with respect to the main optical axis, a rotational symmetry of uneven order higher than or equal to three.

A laser such as a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) emits laser light. A beam shaping metasurface is configured to apply a beam shaping profile to the laser light to generate shaped laser light in response to receiving the laser light.

In an embodiment a laser diode includes a surface emitting semiconductor laser configured to emit electromagnetic radiation and an optical element arranged downstream of the semiconductor laser in a radiation direction, wherein the optical element includes a diffractive structure or a meta-optical structure or a lens structure, wherein the optical element and the semiconductor laser are cohesively connected to each other, and wherein the semiconductor laser and the optical element are integrated with the laser diode.

Vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) includes a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser including a gain layer configured to generate light, a distributed Bragg reflector disposed on a first surface of the gain layer, and a nanostructure reflector disposed on a second surface of the gain layer opposite from the first surface, the nanostructure reflector including a plurality of nanostructures having a sub-wavelength dimension, wherein the plurality of nanostructures include a plurality of anisotropic nanoelements and are configured to emit a circularly polarized laser light through the nanostructure reflector based on distributions and arrangement directions of the plurality of anisotropic nanoelementss.

A laser element includes a transparent substrate, a conductive layer on the transparent substrate, an adhesive layer, attached to the transparent substrate and having a first side surface, a laser unit, wherein the laser unit comprises a front conductive structure, attached to the adhesive layer and having a second side surface, a back conductive structure, which comprises a first detecting electrode and a second detecting electrode separated from the first detecting electrode, a passivation layer covering one of the first side surface and the second side surface, and first via holes extending from the back conductive structure to the conductive layer, wherein the first detecting electrode and the second detecting electrode are electrically connected to the conductive layer through the first via holes.

A semiconductor vertical resonant cavity light source includes an upper and lower mirror that define a vertical resonant cavity. An active region is within the cavity for light generation between the upper and lower mirror. At least one cavity spacer region is between the active region and the upper mirror or lower mirror. The cavity includes an inner mode confinement region and an outer current blocking region. An index guide in the inner mode confinement region is between the cavity spacer region and the upper or lower mirror. The index guide and outer current blocking region each include a lower and upper epitaxial material layer thereon with an epitaxial interface region in between. At least a top surface of the lower material layer includes aluminum in the interface region throughout a full area of an active part of the vertical light source.

Provided is a back side emitting light source array device and an electronic apparatus, the back side emitting light source array device includes a substrate, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) provided on a first surface of the substrate, a plurality of gain layers which are provided on the DBR, the plurality of gain layers being spaced apart from one another, and each of the plurality of gain layers being configured to individually generate light, and a nanostructure reflector provided on the plurality of gain layers opposite to the DBR, and including a plurality of nanostructures having a sub-wavelength shape dimension, wherein a reflectivity of the DBR is less than a reflectivity of the nanostructure reflector such that the light generated is emitted through the substrate.