Abstract

There is much interest in exploring the physics associated with micro-cavity lasers. These lasers can have very low threshold currents because the number of cavity modes is limited and a large portion of the spontaneous emission must be coupled to the lasing mode. To achieve such a structure a very small ( < 1 μm diameter ) optical cavity must be used. The index-guided vertical- cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is a prime candidate for this goal. However, due to the effects of waveguide scattering loss, diffraction loss, and surface recombination, electrically pumped diameters have been limited to > 2 μm [1]. In this paper, we first explore the issues limiting size reduction of the index-guided VCSELs through modelling and experiment. We then show how the issue of surface-recombination can be resolved through in-situ etching and regrowth.

© 1995 Optical Society of America