Infrared Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers: An Industrial Perspective
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Infrared VerticalCavity SurfaceEmitting Lasers: An Industrial Perspective
David W. Kisker and Jeff E. Bisberg Abstract Optical components based on vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are moving from 850-nm wavelengths to 1.31-m and 1.55-m wavelengths. These long-wavelength devices, enabled by new developments in materials technology, will compete directly with distributed-feedback (DFB) and Fabry–Pérot (FP) laser technologies in fiber-optic markets. In addition, the unique properties of VCSELs are opening up a new category of optically integrated components that are not possible with traditional edge-emitting laser source technologies. These VCSEL structures, such as linear and two-dimensional arrays, have the potential to dramatically reduce the cost structure of traditional optical networking equipment and provide a path for rapid growth in optical bandwidth. Keywords: compound semiconductors, electro-optic materials, molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE), vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs).
Introduction The ability of optical transmission systems to deliver near-limitless bandwidth over long distances has positioned opticalfiber technology as the solution of choice for communications networks. Even with the recent decline in the telecommunications market space, optical components are still predicted to grow at substantial rates1 of 35% per year over the next five years, to reach $20 billion by 2006. While there are many different categories of active and passive optical devices, laser light sources are arguably the key design and cost component in these communications systems and will be an important factor in achieving this growth curve. Intersecting with this substantial market opportunity is the recent trend to extend the performance range of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) into the 1.3-m and 1.55-m wavelength regimes, which is a key requirement for virtually all
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telecom applications. Fast, long-distance telecommunications requires minimal dispersion and attenuation; 1.3 m is the wavelength with the minimum dispersion, while
1.55 m is the wavelength region of minimum loss. Despite the large market potential for VCSEL technology to proliferate as the laser source of choice, the devices will have to offer both performance and economic advantages. These factors will ultimately determine the design and success of VCSEL-based optical components. In the next few pages, we will discuss the needs of telecom applications, as well as describe the opportunity that VCSELs—especially 1.3-m devices—provide to this industry.
Requirement: Standards-Driven Laser Performance Like the data-communications market, which is controlled by the Ethernet standard, the detailed specifications for telecommunications applications are controlled by standards bodies such as SONET (the Synchronous Optical Network), Telecordia, ANSI (the American National Standards Institute), and ITU (the International Telecommunication Union), thereby assuring interoperability, robust performance, and l
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