Abstract

The intrinsic properties of vertical- cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), e.g. surface normal emission, circular output beam, low threshold, and 2-dimensional array capability, make them appealing sources for visible optoelectronic applications such as printing, high- density optical storage, low cost plastic fiber-based local area networks, and displays. Recently, pulsed¹ and continuous-wave² (cw) operation at room temperature has been demonstrated in visible (650-670 nm) AlGalnP/AlGaAs air-post VCSEL diodes. Here we report room temperature cw lasing characteristics of gain-guided ion implanted AlGalnP/AlGaAs visible VCSEL diodes, including ultralow threshold current and a single predetermined polarization state for all transverse optical modes.

© 1994 Optical Society of America