Wavelength-stabilized near-field optoelectronic device

US10777969B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• VI SYSTEMS GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Vitaly Shchukin · Berlin, DE
• Nikolay Ledentsov · Berlin, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 17, 2019
• Grant date: Sep 15, 2020
• Expiry date: Oct 17, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S2301/176
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An in-plane-emitting semiconductor diode laser employs a surface-trapped optical mode existing at a boundary between a distributed Bragg reflector and a homogeneous medium, dielectric or air. The device can operate in both TM-polarized and TE-polarized modes. The mode exhibits an oscillatory decay in the DBR away from the surface and an evanescent decay in the dielectric or in the air. The active region is preferably placed in the top part of the DBR close to the surface. The mode behavior strongly depends on the wavelength of light, upon increase of the wavelength the mode becomes more and more extended into the homogeneous medium, the optical confinement factor of the mode in the active region drops until the surface-trapped mode vanishes. Upon a decrease of the wavelength, the leakage loss of the mode into the substrate increases. Thus, there is an optimum wavelength, at which the laser threshold current density is minimum, and at which the lasing starts. This optimum wavelength is temperature-stabilized, and shifts upon temperature increase at a low rate less than 0.1 nm/K, indicating wavelength-stabilized operation of the device. The approach applies also to semiconductor opti…