A Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) including a light emitting III-nitride active region including quantum wells (QWs), wherein each of the quantum wells have a thickness of more than 8 nm, a cavity length of at least 7 λ, or at least 20 λ, where lambda is a peak wavelength of the light emitted from the active region, layers with reduced surface roughness, a tunnel junction intracavity contact. The VCSEL is flip chip bonded using In—Au bonding. This is the first report of a VCSEL capable of continuous wave operation.

A light-emitting element includes: a laminated structure body 20 which is formed from a GaN-based compound semiconductor and in which a first compound semiconductor layer 21 including a first surface 21a and a second surface 21b that is opposed to the first surface 21a, an active layer 23 that faces the second surface 21b of the first compound semiconductor layer 21, and a second compound semiconductor layer 22 including a first surface 22a that faces the active layer 23 and a second surface 22b that is opposed to the first surface 22a are laminated; a first light reflection layer 41 that is provided on the first surface 21a side of the first compound semiconductor layer 21; and a second light reflection layer 42 that is provided on the second surface 22b side of the second compound semiconductor layer 22. The first light reflection layer 41 includes a concave mirror portion 43, and the second light reflection layer 42 has a flat shape.

A light-emitting element includes: a laminated structure body 20 which is formed from a GaN-based compound semiconductor and in which a first compound semiconductor layer 21 including a first surface 21a and a second surface 21b that is opposed to the first surface 21a, an active layer 23 that faces the second surface 21b of the first compound semiconductor layer 21, and a second compound semiconductor layer 22 including a first surface 22a that faces the active layer 23 and a second surface 22b that is opposed to the first surface 22a are laminated; a first light reflection layer 41 that is provided on the first surface 21a side of the first compound semiconductor layer 21; and a second light reflection layer 42 that is provided on the second surface 22b side of the second compound semiconductor layer 22. The first light reflection layer 41 includes a concave mirror portion 43, and the second light reflection layer 42 has a flat shape.

A method of incorporating a control structure within a VCSEL device cavity using a multiphase growth sequence includes forming a first mirror over a substrate, forming an active region over the first mirror, forming a spacer on a surface of the active region, forming a control structure on a surface of the spacer, and forming a second mirror over the control structure. The active region and the spacer are formed using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process during an MBE phase of the multiphase growth sequence. The second mirror is formed using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process during an MOCVD phase of the multiphase growth sequence. The control structure is formed using a chemical etching process during a transition period between the MBE phase and the MOCVD phase of the multiphase growth sequence.

Solid-state optical devices (10) enable tuning of an electrically tunable depletion region (200) to reduce and block lateral (in-junction) carrier spreading. This capability reduces the negative effects of gain-guiding in the junction plane and reduces an astigmatism of an emitted light beam. The tunable depletion region is created by forming a highly resistive Schottky contact (105, 110) or metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure (205, 210) next to a waveguide (optical mode propagation) and current injection region (215), where lateral spread due to diffusion is expected. The depletion region area is tuned by applying a bias to the highly resistive Schottky contact or the MIS contact structure. Such contacts or similar lossy structures reduce in-junction plane gain-guiding also when unbiased by creating additional optical loss for the mode, thus reducing the effective carrier density participating in light generation, thereby reducing astigmatism.

An optical device may include an array of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) having a design wavelength, each VCSEL having an emission area. The optical device may include a first metal layer, substantially covering the array, a second metal layer substantially covering the first metal layer, and an electrical isolation layer, between the first metal layer and the second metal layer, that includes vias for electrically connecting portions of the first metal layer and portions of the second metal layer. The optical device may include a dielectric disposed over the emission area of each VCSEL. A variation in a thickness of the dielectric across at least approximately 90% of an area of the dielectric may be less than approximately 2% of the design wavelength. A depth of a well around the emission area may be equal to at least approximately 10% of a width of the emission area.

A vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) including a first ohmic contact to the substrate formed on an upper surface of the device, instead of the conventional substrate bottom-side contact. The VCSEL is formed to include a hole made through the first distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) and into the material of the substrate itself. A metal layer is deposited at the bottom of the hole to contact the substrate, where the deposited metal layer creates a high quality ohmic contact by not also contacting the inner sidewalls of the hole (i.e., no “stringers” are formed within the hole).

A method of forming a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) device using a multiphase growth sequence includes forming a first mirror over a substrate; forming an active region (e.g., a dilute nitride active region) over the first mirror; forming an oxidation aperture (OA) layer over the active region; forming a spacer on a surface of the OA layer; and forming a second mirror over the spacer. The active region is formed using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process during an MBE phase of the multiphase growth sequence and the second mirror is formed using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process during an MOCVD phase of the multiphase growth sequence.

A method of forming a VCSEL device cavity using a multiphase growth sequence includes forming a first mirror over a substrate, forming a tunnel junction over the first mirror, forming an oxidation aperture (OA) layer over the tunnel junction, forming a p-doped layer over the OA layer, forming an active region over the p-doped layer, forming a second mirror over the active region, and forming a contact layer over the second mirror. The first mirror, the tunnel junction, the OA layer, and the p-doped layer are formed using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process during an MOCVD phase of the multiphase growth sequence. The active region, the second mirror, and the contact layer are formed using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process during an MBE phase of the multiphase growth sequence.

Gallium nitride based devices and, more particularly to the generation of holes in gallium nitride based devices lacking p-type doping, and their use in light emitting diodes and lasers, both edge emitting and vertical emitting. By tailoring the intrinsic design, a wide range of wavelengths can be emitted from near-infrared to mid ultraviolet, depending upon the design of the adjacent cross-gap recombination zone. The innovation also provides for novel circuits and unique applications, particularly for water sterilization.