Abstract

A novel folded Fabry–Perot cavity surface-emitting laser (SEL) structure, employing two oppositively flipped (45° downward) etched facets and one λ/4 dielectric mirror (AlAs/GaAs), is proposed. Unlike the recently reported structures¹ that use two parallel 45° etched facets (one downward and one upward) and two dielectric mirrors to form the cavity, the lasing cavity in the proposed device is formed by using only one dielectric mirror. The quantum well (QW) active region, which is confined by two cladding layers, is defined by two etched 45° downward facets. The output is determined by the reflectance of the dielectric mirror and is received from the substrate side of the device. The reflectance of the dielectric mirror is designed to optimize the operation of the device to achieve lower threshold current density. The structure is also shown to be compatible with high power operation.

© 1992 Optical Society of America