Abstract

Due to the vertical cavity property of the vertical-cavity surface-emitting Lasers (VCSELs), the optical path is parallel with the current path. This makes the designs of contacts and mirrors more complicated than with horizontal-cavity lasers. Several schemes have been used to solve this difficulty. One is a top-emitting laser with a tunneled current passing through the ion damaged region.¹ Another scheme is a bottom-emitting laser with etched substrate.² In this work, a vertical-injection top-emitting scheme is employed.^3,4 Optically transparent and electrically conductive cadmium tin oxide is used for the first time as contacts right on top of the laser emitting windows. The current is vertically injected into the active region. Using this new vertical-injection configuration, the current does not have to go through the ion damaged region, which has higher resistance, and the resistance induced heating is minimized. At the same time, top-emission is maintained to simplify the structure.

© 1991 Optical Society of America