Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Long-wavelength (1300/1550 nm) vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have been much more difficult to realize than VCSELs at shorter wavelengths such as 850/980 nm. The primary reason for this has been the low refractive index difference and reflectivity associated with lattice-matched InP/InGaAsP mirrors. A solution to this problem is to “wafer-fuse” high-reflectivity GaAs/AlGaAs mirrors to InP/InGaAsP active regions. This process has led to the first room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) 1.54 μm VCSELs. In this paper, we discuss two device geometries which employ wafer-fused mirrors, both of which lead to CW operation. We also discuss fabrication of WDM arrays using long-wavelength VCSELs.