High-Temperature Dynamics, High-Speed Modulation, and Transmission Experiments Using 1.3- InGaAs Single-Mode VCSELs

Abstract

High-temperature dynamics, including small and large signal modulation response, of 1.28-μm GaAs-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with highly strained InGaAs quantum wells have been investigated. The VCSELs are oxide-confined with a relatively large oxide aperture for high output power and have a surface relief for fundamental mode operation. An inverted surface relief is used to improve manufacturability and to suppress oxide modes that otherwise appear in VCSELs with a large detuning between the cavity resonance and the gain peak. The size dependence of the modulation bandwidth and bandwidth limitations are investigated. A VCSEL with an optimum combination of oxide aperture and surface relief diameters produces clear open eyes with an extinction ratio of > 6 dB at OC-48 and 10-GbE bit rates from 25 °C to 85 °C under constant drive conditions. The same VCSEL is also shown to be capable of error-free transmission (BER < 10^-9) over 9 km of standard single-mode fiber under the same conditions.