Abstract

We report the operation of visible-light (670-630 nm) vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in a photopumped structure. Visible VCSELs are a promising breakthrough for visible laser technology because of their surfacenormal operation, nonastigmatic output beams, ease of fabrication of closely spaced 1- and 2-dimensional arrays, and ease of integration with electronic and photonic devices. To date, operation of VCSELs has been limited to wavelengths greater than 770 nm. We have extended this range into the visible, where numerous applications exist, including ultrafast holographic memory, visible laser projection displays, plastic fiber-optic communications, and many applications for which He-Ne lasers are currently employed. The visible VCSEL structure was grown by using low-pressure metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The active region consists of InGaP strained quantum wells and InAlGaP graded barriers. We characterized and optimized the optical properties, strain effects, and band offsets of the materials as a function of growth and structure parameters with low temperature photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopies. Distributed Bragg reflectors reflecting at visible wavelengths were grown in both the AlGaAs and InAlGaP material systems. Room temperature photopumped lasing was achieved with a very low threshold power, comparable to our best AlGaAs/GaAs near-infrared VCSELs. We have achieved photopumped lasing in both doped and undoped structures at wavelengths ranging from 670 to 630 nm. We are currently engaged in the fabrication of visible VCSEL diodes and will discuss this work. These results demonstrate the viability of visible VCSEL technology, opening the door for a broad range of new visible-light optoelectronic applications.

© 1992 Optical Society of America