A MEMS tunable VCSEL includes a membrane device having a mirror and a distal-side electrostatic cavity for displacing the mirror to increase a size of an optical cavity. A VCSEL device includes an active region for amplifying light. Then, one or more proximal-side electrostatic cavities are defined between the VCSEL device and the membrane device and used to displace the mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity.

Provided is a variable-wavelength surface emission laser having a wide wavelength variation range. A partial region of a thin-plate substrate (22) and a movable mirror (20), the partial region being positioned between an air gap (G1) and a movable gap (G2), can move toward the air gap (G1) side or the movable gap (G2) side.

A MEMS tunable VCSEL includes a membrane device having a mirror and a distal-side electrostatic cavity for displacing the mirror to increase a size of an optical cavity. A VCSEL device includes an active region for amplifying light. Then, one or more proximal-side electrostatic cavities are defined between the VCSEL device and the membrane device and used to displace the mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity.

Methods for forming an at least partially oxidized confinement layer of a semiconductor device and corresponding semiconductor devices are provided. The method comprises forming two or more layers of a semiconductor device on a substrate. The layers include an exposed layer and a to-be-oxidized layer. The to-be-oxidized layer is disposed between the substrate and the exposed layer. The method further comprises etching, using a masking process, a pattern of holes that extend through the exposed layer at least to a first surface of the to-be-oxidized layer. Each hole of the pattern of holes extends in a direction that is transverse to a level plane that is parallel to the first surface of the to-be-oxidized layer. The method further comprises oxidizing the to-be-oxidized layer through the pattern of holes by exposing the two or more layers of the semiconductor device to an oxidizing gas to form a confinement layer.

A MEMS tunable VCSEL includes a membrane device having a mirror and a distal-side electrostatic cavity for displacing the mirror to increase a size of an optical cavity. A VCSEL device includes an active region for amplifying light. Then, a proximal-side electrostatic cavity is defined between the VCSEL device and the membrane device is used to displace the mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity.

A VCSEL may include an n-type substrate layer and an n-type bottom mirror on a surface of the n-type substrate layer. The VCSEL may include an active region on the n-type bottom mirror and a p-type layer on the active region. The VCSEL may include an oxidation layer over the active region to provide optical and electrical confinement of the VCSEL. The VCSEL may include a tunnel junction over the p-type layer to reverse a carrier type of an n-type top mirror. Either the oxidation layer is on or in the p-type layer and the tunnel junction is on the oxidation layer, or the tunnel junction is on the p-type layer and the oxidation layer is on the tunnel junction. The VCSEL may include the n-type top mirror over the tunnel junction, a top contact layer over the n-type top mirror, and a top metal on the top contact layer.

Self-mixing interferometry (SMI) sensors may include vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL), photodetectors, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The VCSEL, photodetectors, and MEMS may be vertically stacked. The MEMS may be moveable with respect to a VCSEL and may change a cavity length associated with the VCSEL. By changing the cavity length associated with the VCSEL, certain properties of emitted light may be changed, such as a wavelength value of the emitted light.

A visible light source includes a substrate, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser including an active semiconductor region configured to emit infrared light and a first reflector configured to reflect the infrared light emitted by the active semiconductor region, a second reflector configured to reflect the infrared light and form a vertical cavity for the infrared light with the first reflector, and one or more micro-resonators configured to receive the infrared light and generate visible light in one or more colors using the infrared light through optical parametric oscillation. The visible light source also includes one or more output couplers configured to couple the visible light in one or more colors from the one or more micro-resonators into free space or into a photonic integrated circuit.

An optical device includes a first reflector; a second reflector; an elastic support unit supporting the second reflector; a piezoelectric element on the elastic support unit; a light emitter configured to emit light having an oscillation wavelength; and circuitry configured to output a signal to apply drive voltage to the piezoelectric element to elastically deform the elastic support unit. The deformation of the elastic support unit changes a distance between the first reflector and the second reflector to change the oscillation wavelength of the light emitted from the light emitter.

A layered structure comprising a substrate having a first deformation. Also one or more device layers forming a device and having a second deformation. A deformation control layer which is pseudomorphic with respect to the substrate and having a third deformation. The deformation control layer is selected such that a sum of the first, second and third deformations matches a target level of deformation. Advantageously the layered structure has a controlled, known deformation which can be compressive, tensile or zero.