Abstract
We review recent developments on high-power , high-efficiency two-dimensional vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays emitting around 808 and 980 nm. Selectively oxidized, bottom-emitting single VCSEL emitters with 50% power conversion efficiency were developed as the basic building block of these arrays . More than 230 W of continuous-wave (CW) power is demonstrated from a \(5\,\hbox{mm} \,{\times}\, 5\,\hbox{mm} \) array chip. In quasi-CW mode, smaller array chips exhibit 100 W output power, corresponding to more than \(3.5\,\hbox{kW}/\hbox{cm}^{2}\) of power-density. High-brightness VCSEL pumps have been developed, delivering a fiber output power of 40 W, corresponding to a brightness close to \(50\,\hbox{kW}/(\hbox{cm}^{2}\, \hbox{sr}).\) High-energy VCSEL arrays in the milli-Joule range have also been developed. Many of the advantages of low-power single VCSEL devices such as reliability , wavelength stability, low-divergence circular beam, and low-cost manufacturing are preserved for these high-power arrays . VCSELs thus offer an attractive alternative to the dominant edge-emitter technology for many applications requiring compact high-power laser sources.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
A similar approach for optimizing the VCSEL operating point was presented in [37], albeit with a slightly different formulation. In particular, the authors consider the dependence of the “electrical confinement factor” (which is essentially the internal quantum efficiency ) on the output mirror reflectivity. We found this dependence negligeable for our devices and therefore tend to ignore it, as it greatly simplifies the analysis.
- 2.
For a given device, the expression for the operating current at the maximum PCE can be derived as \(I_{e,m}=I_{th}(1+\sqrt{1+\alpha}),\) and can also be obtained directly from the derivative analysis of the electrical characteristics. Also, it can be seen that—within the approximations of the present analysis—a laser’s point of maximum PCE will always occur at a drive current greater than twice the threshold current .
References
M. Kanskar, T. Earles, T. Goodnough, E. Stiers, D. Botez, L. Mawst, 73% CW power conversion efficiency at 50 W from 970 nm diode laser bars. Electron. Lett. 41(5), 245 (2005)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, National Ignition Facility (LLNL, 2009), http://www.lasers.llnl.gov/about/missions/energy_for_the_future/life/
A. Moser, E.E. Latta, Arrhenius parameters for the rate process leading to catastrophic damage of AlGaAs-GaAs laser facets. J. Appl. Phys. 71(10), 4848 (1992)
G. Evans, D. Bour, N. Carlson, R. Amantea, J. Hammer, H. Lee, M. Lurie, R. Lai, P. Pelka, R. Farkas, J. Kirk, S. Liew, W. Reichert, C. Wang, H. Choi, J. Walpole, J. Butler, W. Ferguson Jr., R. DeFreez, M. Felisky, Characteristics of coherent two-dimensional grating surface emitting diode laser arrays during CW operation. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 27(6), 1594 (1991)
R.M. Lammert, S.W. Oh, M.L. Osowski, C. Panja, P.T. Rudy, T.S. Stakelon, J.E. Ungar, Advances in high brightness semiconductor lasers, in High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications IV, ed. by M.S. Zediker. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 6104 (2006), p. 61040I-1
N. Margalit, S. Zhang, J. Bowers, Vertical cavity lasers for telecom applications. IEEE Commun. Mag. 35(5), 164 (1997)
K. Giboney, L. Aronson, B. Lemoff, The ideal light source for datanets. IEEE Spectr. 35(2), 43 (1998)
F. Peters, M. Peters, D. Young, J. Scott, B. Thibeault, S. Corzine, L. Coldren, High-power vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Electron. Lett. 29(2), 200 (1993)
M. Grabherr, R. Jager, M. Miller, C. Thalmaier, J. Herlein, R. Michalzik, K. Ebeling, Bottom-emitting VCSEL’s for high-CW optical output power. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 10(8), 1061 (1998)
D. Francis, H.-L. Chen, W. Yuen, G. Li, C. Chang-Hasnain, Monolithic 2D-VCSEL array with \({>}2\,\hbox{W}\) CW and \({>}5\,\hbox{W}\) pulsed output power. Electron. Lett. 34(22), 2132 (1998)
M. Miller, M. Grabherr, R. Jager, K. Ebeling, High-power VCSEL arrays for emission in the watt regime at room temperature. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 13(3), 173 (2001).
L. D’Asaro, J. Seurin, J. Wynn, High-power, high efficiency VCSELs pursue the goal. Photon. Spectra 2, 64 (2005)
K. Choquette, H. Hou, Vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers: moving from research to manufacturing. Proc. IEEE 85(11), 1730 (1997)
J.A. Tatum, A. Clark, J.K. Guenter, R.A. Hawthorne III, R.H. Johnson, Commercialization of Honeywell’s VCSEL technology, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers IV, ed. byK.D. Choquette, C. Lei. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 3946 (2000), p. 2
A. Timmermann, J. Meinschien, P. Bruns, C. Burke, D. Bartoschewski, Next generation high-brightness diode lasers offer new industrial applications, in High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications VI, ed. by M.S. Zediker. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 6876 (2008), p. 68760U-1
U. Steegmüller, M. Kühnelt, H. Unold, T. Schwarz, R. Schulz, S. Illek, I. Pietzonka, H. Lindberg, M. Schmitt, U. Strauss, Green laser modules to fit laser projection out of your pocket, in Solid State Lasers XVII: Technology and Devices, ed. by W.A. Clarkson, N. Hodgson, R.K. Shori. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 6871 (2008), p. 687117-1
G. Town, C. Ash, Measurement of home-use laser and intense pulsed light systems for hair removal: preliminary report. J. Cosmet. Laser Ther. 11(3), 157 (2009)
J. Geske, C. Wang, M. MacDougal, R. Stahl, D. Follman, H. Garrett, T. Meyrath, D. Snyder,E. Golden, J. Wagener, J. Foley, High power VCSELs for miniature optical sensors, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XIV, ed. by J.K. Guenter, K.D. Choquette. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 7615 (2010), p. 76150E-1
J.-F. Seurin, G. Xu, B. Guo, A. Miglo, Q. Wang, P. Pradhan, J.D. Wynn, V. Khalfin, W.-X. Zou, C.L. Ghosh, Efficient vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for infrared illumination applications, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XV, ed. by J.K. Guenter, C. Lei. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 7952 (2011), p. 795215-1
M. Grabherr, M. Miller, R. Jaeger, D. Wiedenmann, R. King, Commercial VCSELs reach 0.1-W CW output power, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers VIII, ed. by C. Lei, K.D. Choquette, S.P. Kilcoyne. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 5364 (2004), p. 174
R. Morgan, M. Hibbs-Brenner, T. Marta, R. Walterson, S. Bounnak, E. Kalweit, J. Lehman, \(200^\circ\hbox{C},\) 96-nm wavelength range, continuous-wave lasing from unbonded GaAs MOVPE-grown vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 7(5), 441(1995)
F. Hopfer, A. Mutig, G. Fiol, P. Moser, D. Arsenijevic, V.A. Shchukin, N.N. Ledentsov,S.S.S. Mikhrin, I.L. Krestnikov, D.A. Livshits, A.R. Kovsh, M. Kuntz, D. Bimberg, \(120^\circ\hbox{C}\) 20 Gbit/s operation of 980 nm VCSEL based on sub-monolayer growth, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XIII, ed. by K.D. Choquette, C. Lei. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 7229 (2009), p. 72290-1
L. D’Asaro, J. Seurin, C. Ghosh, Powerful VCSEL arrays beat the heat. Laser Focus World 43(11), 81 (2007)
K. Lear, K. Choquette, R.P. Schneider Jr., S. Kilcoyne, K. Geib, Selectively oxidised vertical cavity surface emitting lasers with 50% power conversion efficiency. Electron. Lett. 31(3), 208 (1995)
R. Michalzik, M. Grabherr, K.J. Ebeling, High-power VCSELs: modeling and experimental characterization, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers II. ed. by K.D. Choquette, R.A. Morgan. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 3286 (1998), p. 206
J.-F. Seurin, C.L. Ghosh, V. Khalfin, A. Miglo, G. Xu, J.D. Wynn, P. Pradhan, L.A. D’Asaro, High-power high-efficiency 2D VCSEL arrays, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XII, ed. by C. Lei, J.K. Guenter. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 6908 (2008), p. 690808-1
J.-F. Seurin, G. Xu, V. Khalfin, A. Miglo, J.D. Wynn, P. Pradhan, C.L. Ghosh, L.A. D’Asaro, Progress in high-power high-efficiency VCSEL arrays, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XIII, ed. by K.D. Choquette, C. Lei. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 7229 (2009), p. 722903-1
J.M. Dallesasse, J.N. Holonyak, A.R. Sugg, T.A. Richard, N. El-Zein, Hydrolyzation oxidation of \(\hbox{Al}_x\hbox{Ga}_{1 - x}\) As-AlAs-GaAs quantum well heterostructures and superlattices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 57(26), 2844 (1990)
D.L. Huffaker, D.G. Deppe, K. Kumar, T.J. Rogers, Native-oxide defined ring contact for low threshold vertical-cavity lasers. Appl. Phys. Lett. 65(1), 97 (1994)
G.M. Yang, M. MacDougal, V. Pudikov, P. Dapkus, Influence of mirror reflectivity on laser performance of very-low-threshold vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 7(11), 1228 (1995)
A. Bond, P. Dapkus, J. O’Brien, Aperture placement effects in oxide-defined vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 10(10), 1362 (1998)
E. Hegblom, N. Margalit, A. Fiore, L. Coldren, High-performance small vertical-cavity lasers: a comparison of measured improvements in optical and current confinement in devices using tapered apertures. IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron. 5(3), 553 (1999)
E.R. Hegblom, N.M. Margalit, B. Thibeault, L.A. Coldren, J.E. Bowers, Current spreading in apertured vertical-cavity lasers, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers, ed. by K.D. Choquette, D.G. Deppe. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 3003 (1997), p. 176
M.G. Peters, B.J. Thibeault, D.B. Young, A.C. Gossard, L.A. Coldren, Growth of beryllium doped \(\hbox{Al}_x\hbox{Ga}_{1 - x}\)As/GaAs mirrors for vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. J. Vac. Sci Technol. B 12(6), 3075 (1994)
D. Babic, S. Corzine, Analytic expressions for the reflection delay, penetration depth, and absorptance of quarter-wave dielectric mirrors. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 28(2), 514(1992)
D.P. Bour, A. Rosen, Optimum cavity length for high conversion efficiency quantum well diode lasers. J. Appl. Phys. 66(7), 2813 (1989)
G. Taylor, Q. Yang, Optimization of the operating point of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 32(8), 1441 (1996)
L. Coldren, S. Corzine, Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1995)
P. Barnes, T. Paoli, Derivative measurements of the current-voltage characteristics of double-heterostructure injection lasers. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 12(10), 633 (1976)
J. Li, J.-F. Seurin, S.L. Chuang, K.D. Choquette, K.M. Geib, H.Q. Hou, Correlation of electrical and optical characteristics of selectively oxidized vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Appl. Phys. Lett. 70(14), 1799 (1997)
K. Lear, S. Kilcoyne, S. Chalmers, High power conversion efficiencies and scaling issues for multimode vertical-cavity top-surface-emitting lasers. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 6(7), 778 (1994)
R. Naone, P. Floyd, D. Young, E. Hegblom, T. Strand, L. Coldren, Interdiffused quantum wells for lateral carrier confinement in VCSELs. IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron. 4(4), 706 (1998)
D. Lofgreen, Y.-C. Chang, L. Coldren, Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with lateral carrier confinement. Electron. Lett. 43(3), 163 (2007)
D. Bimberg, N. Kirstaedter, N. Ledentsov, Z. Alferov, P. Kop’ev, V. Ustinov, InGaAs–GaAs quantum-dot lasers. IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron. 3(2), 196 (1997)
G. Liu, A. Stintz, H. Li, T. Newell, A. Gray, P. Varangis, K. Malloy, L. Lester, The influence of quantum-well composition on the performance of quantum dot lasers using InAs-InGaAs dots-in-a-well (DWELL) structures. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 36(11), 1272 (2000)
N.-H. Kim, J.-H. Park, L. Mawst, T. Kuech, M. Kanskar, Temperature sensitivity of InGaAs quantum-dot lasers grown by MOCVD. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 18(8), 989 (2006)
E.C. Yu, M. Osinski, W. Nakwaski, M. Turowski, A.J. Przekwas, Thermal crosstalk in arrays of proton-implanted top-surface-emitting lasers, in Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices VI, ed. by M. Osinski, P. Blood, A. Ishibashi. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 3283 (1998), p. 384
M. Grabherr, M. Miller, R. Jager, R. Michalzik, U. Martin, H. Unold, K. Ebeling, High-power VCSELs: single devices and densely packed 2-D-arrays. IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron. 5(3), 495 (1999)
H.-L. Chen, D. Francis, T. Nguyen, W. Yuen, G. Li, C. Chang-Hasnain, Collimating diode laser beams from a large-area VCSEL-array using microlens array. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 11(5), 506 (1999)
J.-F. Seurin, G. Xu, Q. Wang, B. Guo, R.V. Leeuwen, A. Miglo, P. Pradhan, J.D. Wynn, V. Khalfin, C.L. Ghosh, High-brightness pump sources using 2D VCSEL arrays, in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XIV, ed. by J.K. Guenter, K.D. Choquette. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 7615 (2010), p. 76150F-1
J.E. Nettleton, B.W. Schilling, D.N. Barr, J.S. Lei, Monoblock laser for a low-cost, eyesafe, microlaser range finder. Appl. Opt. 39(15), 2428 (2000)
J.-F. Seurin, C.L. Ghosh, V. Khalfin, A. Miglo, G. Xu, J.D. Wynn, P. Pradhan, L.A. D’Asaro, High-power vertical-cavity surface-emitting arrays, in High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications VI, ed. by M.S. Zediker. Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 6876 (2008), p. 68760D-1
Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge his colleagues at Princeton Optronics who have contributed to the work summarized in this chapter. This work was supported in part by the DARPA program on Super High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDS), contract # HR0011-04-C-0139.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Seurin, JF.P. (2013). High-Power VCSEL Arrays. In: Michalzik, R. (eds) VCSELs. Springer Series in Optical Sciences, vol 166. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24986-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24986-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-24985-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-24986-0
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)