Letter abstract
Nature Photonics 1, 119 - 122 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nphoton.2006.80
There is an Erratum (April 2007) associated with this Letter.
Subject Category: Lasers, LEDs and light sources
A surface-emitting laser incorporating a high-index-contrast subwavelength grating
Michael C.Y. Huang1, Y. Zhou1 & Connie J. Chang-Hasnain1
Abstract
Semiconductor diode lasers can be used in a variety of applications including telecommunications, displays, solid-state lighting, sensing and printing. Among them, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers1, 2, 3 (VCSELs) are particularly promising. Because they emit light normal to the constituent wafer surface, it is possible to extract light more efficiently and to fabricate two-dimensional device arrays. A VCSEL contains two distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirrors for optical feedback, separated by a very short active gain region. Typically, the reflectivity of the DBRs must exceed 99.5% in order for the VCSEL to lase. However, the realization of practical VCSELs that can be used over a broad spectrum of wavelengths has been hindered by the poor optical and thermal properties of candidate DBR materials4, 5, 6. In this Letter, we present surface-emitting lasers that incorporate a single-layer high-index-contrast subwavelength grating7, 8 (HCG). The HCG provides both efficient optical feedback and control of the wavelength and polarization of the emitted light. Such integration reduces the required VCSEL mirror epitaxial thickness by a factor of two and increases fabrication tolerance. This work will directly influence the future designs of VCSELs, photovoltaic cells and light-emitting diodes at blue–green, 1.3–1.55 
m and mid- to far-infrared wavelengths.
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California at Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Correspondence to: Connie J. Chang-Hasnain1 e-mail: cch@eecs.berkeley.edu
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