Abstract

Single-mode VCSEL technology has advanced significantly in the past few years. The advantages of single-mode VCSELs lie primarily on the narrower linewidth, lower numerical aperture, and smaller spot size compared to multimode VCSELs. They are suitable for transmitting over both multimode fibers and few-mode fibers. For multimode fiber systems, the narrow linewidth can reduce the chromatic dispersion penalty and increase the system reach. A single-mode VCSEL also allows the coupling into graded-index single-mode fiber, which is few-mode around 850 nm with high bandwidth, for few-mode transmission. We review recent progress and present new experimental results and modeling analyses of single-mode VCSEL transmission over both types of fibers. The experiments and analyses shed new light on how single-mode VCSELs can be used with multimode fibers and graded-index single-mode fibers and relative merits between 850 nm single-mode VCSELs versus 980 nm and 1060 nm single-mode VCSELs to address the needs of various applications.

High data rate few-mode transmission over graded-index single-mode fiber using 850 nm single-mode VCSEL

Kangmei Li, Xin Chen, Jason E. Hurley, Jeffery S. Stone, and Ming-Jun Li
Opt. Express 27(15) 21395-21404 (2019)

High-Speed 850 nm Quasi-Single-Mode VCSELs for Extended-Reach Optical Interconnects

Rashid Safaisini, Krzysztof Szczerba, Petter Westbergh, Erik Haglund, Benjamin Kögel, Johan S. Gustavsson, Magnus Karlsson, Peter Andrekson, and Anders Larsson
J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 5(7) 686-695 (2013)

26.5625 Gbaud PAM-4 short-reach transmission at 75°C using 850 nm VCSELs with strategic oxide guiding layer positioning

Yun-Cheng Yang, Wei-Hsin Chen, Chih-Chuan Chiu, and Chao-Hsin Wu
Opt. Lett. 49(8) 2077-2080 (2024)

Comparison of single-/few-/multi-mode 850 nm VCSELs for optical OFDM transmission

Hsuan-Yun Kao, Cheng-Ting Tsai, Shan-Fong Leong, Chun-Yen Peng, Yu-Chieh Chi, Jian Jang Huang, Hao-Chung Kuo, Tien-Tsorng Shih, Jau-Ji Jou, Wood-Hi Cheng, Chao-Hsin Wu, and Gong-Ru Lin
Opt. Express 25(14) 16347-16363 (2017)

Long Distance Single-mode Fiber Transmission of Multimode VCSELs by Injection Locking

Devang Parekh, Bo Zhang, Xiaoxue Zhao, Yang Yue, Werner Hofmann, Markus C. Amann, Alan Willner, and Connie J. Chang-Hasnain
Opt. Express 18(20) 20552-20557 (2010)