Single-mode low threshold current multi-hole vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

A multi-hole vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser(VCSEL) operating in stable single mode with a low threshold current was produced by introducing multi-leaf scallop holes on the top distributed Bragg-reflector of an oxidationconfined 850 nm VCSEL.The single-mode output power of 2.6 mW,threshold current of 0.6 mA,full width of half maximum lasing spectrum of less than 0.1 nm,side mode suppression ratio of 28.4 dB,and far-field divergence angle of about 10 are obtained.The effects of different hole depths on the optical characteristics are simulated and analysed,including far-field divergence,spectrum and lateral cavity mode.The single-mode performance of this multi-hole device is attributed to the large radiation loss from the inter-hole spacing and the scattering loss at the bottom of the holes,particularly for higher order modes.