Design and characterization of optically pumped vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. Master's thesis

Technical Report · Tue Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6714770

Bagnell, R J

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) are a form of semiconductor laser which have their cavity oriented orthogonally to the plane of the wafer. The orientation necessitates short cavities, highly reflective mirrors and a relatively high gain/loss ratio. Even so, the resultant superior exit beam characteristics and the tight packing density of the finished lasers provide strong motivation for pursuing the growth of these structures. This thesis details the design of an optically pumped InGaAs multiple quantum well periodic gain structure VCSEL with a 950 nm lasing wavelength. These growths were to be a first attempt at VCSEL construction, so part of this study included verification of the quality of the parts of the finished design. These measurements required the construction of a laboratory configuration to optically pump VCSELs and characterize them by spectral reflectivity, output beam polarization, mode, lasing wavelength, and optimal pump wavelength. Analysis of the characteristics for several VCSELs obtained from the University of Arizona, and the back mirror grown locally, illustrate tile ability to use measured data and theoretical spectral reflectivity calculations to determine the quality of the growths.... Semiconductor lasers, Gallium arsenide lasers, Semiconductor devices, Surface emitting lasers, Distributed Bragg reflector stack, Vertical cavity structure, InGaAs quantum wells.

• Research Organization: Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States). School of Engineering
• OSTI ID: 6714770
• Report Number(s): AD-A-258815/0/XAB; AFIT/GE/ENP--92D-01
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
426002* -- Engineering-- Lasers & Masers-- (1990-)
ALLOYS
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
DESIGN
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
INDIUM ARSENIDES
INDIUM COMPOUNDS
INFRARED RADIATION
INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
LASERS
NEAR INFRARED RADIATION
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PNICTIDES
POLARIZATION
RADIATIONS
REFLECTIVITY
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS
SOLID STATE LASERS
SURFACE PROPERTIES