Demonstration of GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with buried tunnel junction contacts

We report III-nitride vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with buried tunnel junction (BTJ) contacts. To form the BTJs, GaN TJ contacts were etched away outside the aperture followed by n-GaN regrowth for current spreading. Under pulsed operation, a BTJ VCSEL with a 14 mu m diameter aperture showed a lasing wavelength of 430 nm, a threshold current of similar to 20 mA (12 kA/cm(2)), and a maximum output power of 2.8 mW. Under CW operation, an 8 mu m aperture VCSEL showed a differential efficiency of 11% and a peak output power of similar to 0.72 mW. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement