[Object] To provide a vertical cavity surface emitting laser element that has excellent producibility and is suitable for high output and a method of producing the vertical cavity surface emitting laser element.

[Solving Means] A vertical cavity surface emitting laser element according to the present technology includes: a first DBR; a second BR; an active layer; and a tunnel junction layer. The first DBR reflects light of a specific wavelength. The second DBR reflects light of the wavelength. The active layer is disposed between the first DBR and the second DBR. The tunnel junction layer is disposed between the first DBR and the active layer and forms a tunnel junction. Respective layers between the first DBR and the second DBR have an inner peripheral region that is on an inner peripheral side as viewed from a direction perpendicular to a layer surface, and an outer peripheral region surrounding the inner peripheral region, ions being implanted into the outer peripheral region of the tunnel junction layer, the outer peripheral region having a lower carrier concentration and a larger electric resistance than the inner peripheral region of the tunnel junction layer.

A light-emitting device includes: a first light source that oscillates in a single lateral mode; a second light source that oscillates in a multiple lateral mode, the second light source having a light output larger than a light output of the first light source and being configured to be driven independently from the first light source; and a light diffusion member that is provided on an emission path of the second light source.

A corrected mesa structure for a VCSEL device is particularly configured to compensate for variations in the shape of the created oxide aperture that result from anisotropic oxidation. In particular, a corrected mesa shape is derived by determining the shape of an as-created aperture formed by oxidizing a circular mesa structure, and then ascertaining the compensation required to convert the as-created shape into a desired (“target”) shaped aperture opening. The compensation value is then used to modify the shape of the mesa itself such that a following anisotropic oxidation yields a target-shaped oxide aperture.

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.

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 vertical cavity light-emitting element includes a first multilayer film reflecting mirror, a light transmissive first electrode, a first semiconductor layer having a first conductivity type, a light-emitting layer, a second semiconductor layer having a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type, a second multilayer film reflecting mirror, and a semiconductor substrate. The second multilayer film reflecting mirror includes a plurality of semiconductor layers having the second conductivity type and constitutes a resonator together with the first multilayer film reflecting mirror. The semiconductor substrate is formed on the second multilayer film reflecting mirror, has an upper surface and a projecting portion projecting from the upper surface, and has the second conductivity type. A second electrode is formed on the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate.

A Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) has a mesa having an active region, which has m active layer structures (with m≥2). 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.

An optoelectronic device includes a semiconductor substrate with a first set of epitaxial layers formed on an area of the substrate defining a lower distributed Bragg-reflector (DBR) stack. A second set of epitaxial layers formed over the first set defines a quantum well structure, and a third set of epitaxial layers, formed over the second set, defines an upper DBR stack. At least the third set of epitaxial layers is contained in a mesa having sides that are perpendicular to the epitaxial layers. A dielectric coating extends over the sides of at least a part of the mesa that contains the third set of epitaxial layers. Electrodes are coupled to the epitaxial layers so as to apply an excitation current to the quantum well structure.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser includes a substrate having a main surface, a first lower distributed Bragg reflector that extends to an edge of the main surface, a III-V compound semiconductor layer disposed on the first lower distributed Bragg reflector, a second lower distributed Bragg reflector disposed on the III-V compound semiconductor layer, an active layer disposed above the second lower distributed Bragg reflector and an upper distributed Bragg reflector disposed on the active layer. The first lower distributed Bragg reflector includes a first layer and a second layer that are alternately arranged. The upper distributed Bragg reflector includes a third layer and a fourth layer that are alternately arranged. The III-V compound semiconductor layer is free of aluminum or has an aluminum composition less than an aluminum composition of the third layer. The first layer has an aluminum composition greater than the aluminum composition of the third layer.

Provided is a laser device including a lower reflective layer, a laser cavity comprising an active layer disposed on the lower reflective layer, an upper reflective layer disposed on the laser cavity, and a blocking structure disposed between the laser cavity and the upper reflective layer, in which the blocking structure includes a first intermediate layer disposed on the laser cavity, a blocking layer disposed on the first intermediate layer and including a through-hole, and a second intermediate layer disposed on the blocking layer.