High-speed Vertical-cavity Surface-emitting Lasers: Reduced Electrical and Thermal Constraints on Modulation Bandwidth

In this study high-speed oxide-confined VCSELs were fabricated and characterized. Complete fabrication processes for top-emitting self- aligned and non-self-aligned 850nm and 980nm high-speed VCSELs were developed. A complete fabrication process for bottom-emitting, non-self-aligned, flip-chip bonded 980nm high-speed VCSELs was developed. Some of the critical fabrication steps that affect the VCSEL?s speed were examined. The effect of a heat-sinking layer on the performance of high-speed VCSELs was demonstrated for 850nm and 980nm devices. To further improve the understanding of current high- speed VCSEL performance restrictions, the effect of external heating on the VCSEL?s resonance frequency and damping factor was examined for top-emitting, self-aligned 980nm VCSELs. Furthermore, as the contacts of the self-aligned VCSELs go through annealing, etching, and oxidation, experiments on metal systems used were performed. To better model the high-speed devices, the dielectric properties of four different spin-on dielectrics were investigated.