Single Mode Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Lasers and Arrays

Choquette, Kent D.; Danner, A.J.; Raftery, J.J.

Single Mode Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Lasers and Arrays

Date

2005

Authors

Choquette, Kent D.

Danner, A.J.

Raftery, J.J.

Publisher

OSA

Abstract

Control of the transverse modes of a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSELs) is important for many existing and future applications. Methods which have achieved single mode VCSELs operation typically involve small apertures, complex fabrication procedures, or excess optical loss. We review photonic crystal (PhC) VCSELs and show they can be designed and fabricated to achieve high power single mode operation with a reproducible, simple fabrication process. PhC confinement is a method of introducing a controlled lateral index change into a VCSEL cavity through the addition of small holes in the top distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) [1-3]. The holes are arranged in a periodic pattern such that can be analyzed theoretically in frequency space with photonic band diagrams [2,3]. Analogous to endlessly single mode operation in a PhC fiber [4], we use a V-parameter to predict single mode operation in the case of a single-defect device.

Keywords

Bragg reflectors, Laser arrays, Modes, Photonic crystal cavities, Photonic crystals, Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

Citation

K. D. Choquette, A. Danner, and J. Raftery, "Single Mode Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Lasers and Arrays," in Frontiers in Optics, OSA Technical Digest Series (Optica Publishing Group, 2005), paper FThE2.