Monolithic vertical-cavity laser/p-i-n photodiode transceiver array for optical interconnects

The design, fabrication, and characterization of a 16-element monolithic 850-nm vertical-cavity laser/p-type-intrinsic-n-type (VCL/p-i-n) photodiode transceiver array for optical interconnects are described. The packaged VCL/p-i-n array exhibits excellent array uniformity over a large temperature range. Packaged VCLs display up to 1 mW of single-mode power and a relative intensity noise below -120 dB/Hz for all currents above threshold at a measuring bandwidth of 2 GHz. The p-i-n photodiodes exhibit a responsivity of 0.535 A/W and a -3-dB bandwidth of 2.3 GHz. A microlens array integrated into the packaged VCL/p-i-n device decreases the VCL beam divergence six to seven times. Polarization control with a mean rejection ratio of 22 dB across the VCL array is achieved with the use of oval aperture VCLs.