Ultralow threshold current vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with AlAs oxide-GaAs distributed Bragg reflectors

An electrically-pumped, vertical-cavity, surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) using an AlAs oxide-GaAs DBR above the AlGaAs-GaAs-InGaAs gain region and a conventional AlAs-GaAs DBR below is described. By selective oxidation, devices with current flow apertures of different areas are fabricated, and in 8-μm-square devices, threshold currents as low as 0.22 mA are achieved. Being the first electrically-pumped VCSEL to utilize the oxide-based DBR, it demonstrates that the oxide-based DBR is of sufficient quality to realize submilliampere threshold currents.