We report on the design and performance of single-frequency VCSELs that are electro-optically tunable in the 852nm wavelength range. Electro-optic tuning of the index of refraction is achieved by changing the reverse-bias electric field in a secondary p-i-n junction that contains coupled quantum wells. The electro-optic tuning is enhanced by putting the index-tuning region in a secondary cavity of a dual-cavity VCSEL. Electro-optic tuning can achieve 1nm of wavelength tuning without changing laser power and can operate at modulation frequencies up to 1GHz.
We report on the use of etching and regrowth to shift the longitudinal resonance wavelength of adjacent VCSELs by -4nm from 980nm. The etched VCSEL exhibited less than 5% change in threshold (from 0.36mA) and slope efficiency relative to neighboring un-etched VCSELs. This etch and regrowth technique can be applied to produce wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) VCSEL arrays with close spacing (<100microns). We will also discuss applications to 2-dimensional index engineering of novel VCSEL devices, since wavelength shifting is equivalent to effective index tuning.
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