Abstract

The electrical resistance of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is one of the most serious problems in realizing the maximum output power and highest operating temperature of these lasers. In the case of AlGaAs/GaAs lasers, most of the resistance comes from the· heterointerfaces in p-doped mirrors. One method to reduce the resistance is to dope the entire p-doped mirror heavily, however, because o f the increased free-carrier absorption, threshold current increases significantly. Resistance reduction was previously achieved by selective doping combined with graded heterointerface.^1-3 Tírese growth techniques are difficult to reproduce and are not yet appropriate for manufacturing. In this paper, we report a significant resistance reduction using a much simplified delta-doping scheme at ungraded heterointerfaces grown by MBE aiming at possible manufacturing of VCSELs.

© 1993 Optical Society of America