Abstract

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are very attractive for many integrated photonic systems. Two-dimensional arrays are required to provide the compact geometry needed by many optical interconnect systems.¹ However, without a discrete optical element, such as a focusing lens, the diverging Gaussian beam can introduce cross talk if the adjacent receivers are within the spread of the beam diameter. In addition, the direction of the output beam limits many applications to on-axis system configurations. Integrating diffractive optical elements on the transparent substrate of a substrate-emitting VCSEL provides a method for controlling the direction and minimizing the divergence of the exiting beam.²

© 1995 Optical Society of America