A vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) may include an epitaxial structure that includes a first active layer, a second active layer, and a tunnel junction therebetween. The VCSEL may include a set of contacts that are electrically connected to the epitaxial structure. The set of contacts may include three or more contacts, and the set of contacts may be electrically separated from each other on the VCSEL. At least one contact, of the set of contacts, may be electrically connected to the epitaxial structure at a depth between the first active layer and the second active layer.

A multi-junction VCSEL is formed by as a compact structure that reduces lateral current spreading by reducing the spacing between adjacent active regions in the stack of such regions used to from the multi-junction device. At least two of the active regions within the stack are located adjacent peaks of the intensity profile of the VCSEL, with an intervening tunnel junction positioned at a trough between the two peaks. The alignment of the active regions with the peaks maximizes the generated optical power, while the alignment of the tunnel junction with the trough minimizes optical loss. The close spacing on adjacent peaks forms a compact structure (which may even include a cavity having a sub-λ optical length) that lessens the total path traveled by carriers and therefore reduces lateral current spread.

Disclosed herein are self-mixing interferometry (SMI) sensors, such as may include vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes and resonance cavity photodetectors (RCPDs). Structures for the VCSEL diodes and RCPDs are disclosed. In some embodiments, a VCSEL diode and an RCPD are laterally adjacent and formed from a common set of semiconductor layers epitaxially formed on a common substrate. In some embodiments, a first and a second VCSEL diode are laterally adjacent and formed from a common set of semiconductor layers epitaxially formed on a common substrate, and an RCPD is formed on the second VCSEL diode. In some embodiments, a VCSEL diode may include two quantum well layers, with a tunnel junction layer between them. In some embodiments, an RCPD may be vertically integrated with a VCSEL diode.

A semiconductor light-emitting device, includes: a semiconductor light-emitting element; a support including a base and a conductive part and configured to support the semiconductor light-emitting element; and a cover configured to overlap the semiconductor light-emitting element as viewed in a first direction, and to transmit light from the semiconductor light-emitting element, wherein the cover includes a base layer having a front surface and a rear surface which transmit the light from the semiconductor light-emitting element and face opposite sides to each other in the first direction, wherein the rear surface faces the semiconductor light-emitting element, wherein the base layer includes a plurality of undulation parts bonded to the support by a bonding material, and wherein the undulation parts are more uneven than the rear surface.

In some implementations, an emitter device includes a substrate layer and epitaxial layers on the substrate layer. The epitaxial layers may include a first mirror, a second mirror, and an active layer between the first mirror and the second mirror. The epitaxial layers may include at least one oxidation layer including a first oxidized region and a second oxidized region separate from the first oxidized region. The first oxidized region and the second oxidized region may be configured to provide a strain on the epitaxial layers that is radially asymmetric. The epitaxial layers may include a set of oxidation trenches in the set of epitaxial layers to expose the at least one oxidation layer.

In some implementations, a surface emitting laser may have an emitter design with a short oxidation length and/or a large number of trenches. For example, the surface emitting laser may comprise a metallization layer comprising multiple extended portions extending outwards from a circumference of an inner ring portion, and multiple tabs extending laterally from the multiple extended portions in a partial ring shape. The surface emitting laser may further comprise multiple via openings connecting the metallization layer to a plating metal, where each via opening is positioned over a corresponding tab, of the multiple tabs. The surface emitting laser may comprise multiple oxidation trenches that are each formed in an angular gap between a pair of extended portions, of the multiple extended portions, such that the multiple tabs and the multiple via openings are exclusively outside outer radii of the multiple oxidation trenches.

A structure of Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) comprises an ion-implanted region with gas-furnace configuration arranged in the second mirror layer around a laser light output window, in order to retain several conductive passages between the inner and outer rims of the ion-implanted region, so as to let the aperture of the inner rim of the metal layer (that is, the aperture of the output window) be expanded without loss of resistance. Not only the shading effect can be removed, the spectrum width suppression function can be preserved, but also various photoelectric characteristics such as transmission eye diagram and photoelectric curve linearity can be improved, in addition, high-speed transmission characteristics can also be optimized.

Disclosed herein are various embodiments for high performance wireless data transfers. In an example embodiment, laser chips are used to support the data transfers using laser signals that encode the data to be transferred. The laser chip can be configured to (1) receive a digital signal and (2) responsive to the received digital signal, generate and emit a variable laser signal, wherein the laser chip comprises a laser-emitting epitaxial structure, wherein the laser-emitting epitaxial structure comprises a plurality of laser-emitting regions within a single mesa structure that generate the variable laser signal. Also disclosed are a number of embodiments for a photonics receiver that can receive and digitize the laser signals produced by the laser chips. Such technology can be used to wireless transfer large data sets such as lidar point clouds at high data rates.

An emitter array, may comprise a first set of emitters that has a nominal optical output power at an operating voltage. The emitter array may comprise a second set of emitters that has substantially less than the nominal optical output power or no optical output power at the operating voltage. The first set of emitters and the second set of emitters may be interleaved with each other to form a two-dimensional regular pattern of emitters that emits a random pattern of light at the nominal optical output power at the operating voltage. The first set of emitters and the second set of emitters may be electrically connected in parallel.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) has a substrate formed of GaAs. A pair of mirrors is provided wherein one of the pair of mirrors is formed on the substrate. A tunnel junction is formed between the pair of mirrors.