Characteristics of Current-Injected GaN-Based Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

This paper reviews the fabrication technology and performance characteristics of current-injected GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with hybrid distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). The GaN-based VCSEL consists of a ten-pair Ta2O5/SiO2 top DBR, a 7 lambda-thick optical cavity embedded with 10 InGaN/GaN multiquantum wells, and a 29-pair AlN/GaN bottom DBR. Lasing action is observed under continuous-wave operation at room temperature. The laser characteristics, such as temperature-dependent laser threshold current, emission wavelength, and spontaneous emission coupling factors, have been measured and discussed.