A VCSELNECSEL array design is disclosed that results in arrays that can be directly soldered to a PCB using conventional surface-mount assembly and soldering techniques for mass production. The completed VCSEL array does not need a separate package and no precision sub-mount and flip-chip bonding processes are required. The design allows for on-wafer probing of the completed arrays prior to singulation of the die from the wafer. Embodiments relate to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to multibeam arrays of semiconductor lasers for high power and high frequency applications and methods of making and using the same.

A Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) has a mesa having an active region, which has m active layer structures (with m2). The active layer structures are electrically connected to each other by a tunnel junction therebetween. The mesa has an optical resonator, which has first and second DBRs. The active region is between the first and second DBRs. The VCSEL has first and second electrical contacts, which provide electrical current to the active region, and an electrical control contact, which controls gain-switched laser emission of the VCSEL by at least 1 up to m-1 active layer structures by a current between the electrical control contact and the first or second electrical contact. A current aperture is between the active region and the first or second electrode. A distance between the current aperture and a furthest active layer structure is at least three times the laser light's wavelength.

Trenched VCSEL emitter structures are described. In an embodiment, an emitter structure includes a cluster of non-uniformly distributed emitters in which each emitter includes an inside mesa trench and an oxidized portion of an oxide aperture layer extending from the inside mesa trench. An outside moat trench is located adjacent the inside mesa trench and is formed to a depth past the oxide aperture layer.

The invention discloses a semiconductor optoelectronic micro-device comprising at least one cavity and at least one multilayer interference reflector. The device represents a micrometer-scale pillar with an arbitrary shape of the cross section. The device includes a vertical optical cavity, a gain medium and means of injection of nonequilibrium carriers into the gain medium, most preferably, via current injection in a p-n-junction geometry. To allow high electric-to-optic power conversion at least one contact is placed on the sidewalls of the micropillar overlapping with at least one doped section of the device. Means for the current path towards the contacts and for the heat dissipation from the gain medium are provided. Arrays of micro-devices can be fabricated on single wafer or mounted on single carrier. Devices with different cross-section of the micropillar emit light at different wavelengths.

A method of manufacturing a surface emitting laser includes: preparing a substrate on which a lower reflector layer, an active layer and an upper reflector layer are formed in this order from the bottom, each of the lower reflector layer and the upper reflector layer including a semiconductor multilayer film; forming an insulating film on the upper reflector layer; cleaning the substrate using isopropyl alcohol after the forming; patterning a photoresist by applying the photoresist on the insulating film and exposing the photoresist, after the cleaning; and forming a high resistance region by implanting ions into portions of the lower reflector layer, the active layer and the upper reflector layer exposed from the photoresist, after the patterning; wherein the cleaning includes cleaning the substrate with a liquid of the isopropyl alcohol and drying the substrate in a vapor of the isopropyl alcohol.

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and methods for making such are provided. The VCSELs include stepped upper reflectors having respective differently-sized apertures. This allows the lower portion of the reflector to have formed therein a wider-diameter aperture to allow for increased current injection. The upper portion of the reflector has formed therein a narrower-diameter, mode-selecting aperture to allow higher-order modes to be reduced, leading to single-mode operation. The VCSELs are thus capable of higher-power emission in a single mode, allowing for longer-distance signaling over optical fiber, despite modal dispersion within the fiber and/or at the coupling between the VCSEL and the fiber. The two differently-sized apertures can be formed via respective lateral oxidation processes following etch-down to form the respective steps of the upper reflector. Differences in composition across the upper reflector results in temperature-dependence of the oxidation process, allowing the apertures to be formed with different sizes.

A light-emitting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a laminate. The laminate includes an active layer, and a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer sandwiching the active layer. This light-emitting device further includes a current constriction layer having an opening and a vertical resonator including a first reflecting mirror having a concave-curved shape on the first semiconductor layer side and a second reflecting mirror on the second semiconductor side. The first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror sandwich the laminate and the opening. This light-emitting device further includes an optically transparent substrate between the first reflecting mirror and the laminate. The optically transparent substrate has a first convex portion having a convex-curved shape and one or more second convex portions on a surface on the side opposite to the laminate. The first convex portion is in contact with the first reflecting mirror. The one or more second convex portions are provided around the first convex portion. The one or more second convex portions each have a height greater than or equal to a height of the first convex portion, and an end on the first reflecting mirror side has a convex-curved shape.

Disclosed is an electrically pumped vertical cavity laser structure operating in the mid-infrared region, which has demonstrated room-temperature continuous wave operation. This structure uses an interband cascade gain region, two distributed mirrors, and a low-loss refractive index waveguide. A preferred embodiment includes at least one wafer bonded GaAs-based mirror.

A vertical cavity surface emitting laser includes: a supporting base having a principal surface including III-V compound semiconductor containing gallium and arsenic as constituent elements; and a post disposed on the principal surface. The post has a lower spacer region including a III-V compound semiconductor containing gallium and arsenic as group-III elements, and an active layer having a quantum well structure disposed on the lower spacer region. The quantum well structure has a concentration of carbon in a range of 210.sup.16 cm.sup.3 or more to 510.sup.16 cm.sup.3 or less. The quantum well structure includes a well layer and a barrier layer. The well layer includes a III-V compound semiconductor containing indium as a group-III element, and the barrier layer includes a III-V compound semiconductor containing indium and aluminum as group-III elements. The lower spacer region is disposed between the supporting base and the active layer.

Embodiments relate to a semiconductor device, an optical transmission module, and an optical transmission apparatus. An optical transmission module according to an embodiment includes a board; a submount disposed on a first surface of the board; a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) semiconductor device disposed on a first surface of the submount; and a module housing including a coupling unit and a body, the coupling unit spaced apart from the vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) semiconductor device and facing the first surface of the submount, the body extending from the coupling unit toward the first surface of the board and disposed around the submount and the vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) semiconductor device.