Inventors:
James A. Tatum - Plano TX, US
James K Guenter - Garland TX, US
Ralph H. Johnson - Murphy TX, US
Assignee:
Finisar Corporation - Sunnyvale CA
International Classification:
H01S003/097, H01S005/00
US Classification:
372 87, 372 43, 372 44, 372 45, 372 46
Abstract:
A VCSEL having a metallic heat spreading layer adjacent a semiconductor buffer layer containing an insulating structure. The heat spreading layer includes an opening that enables light emitted by an active region to reflect from a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) top mirror located above the heat spreading layer. A substrate is below the active region. A lower contact provides electrical current to that substrate. The lower contact includes an opening that enables light emitted from the active region to reflect from a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lower mirror. Beneficially, the substrate includes a slot that enables light to pass through an opening in the lower contact. That slot acts as an alignment structure that enables optical alignment of an external feature to the VCSEL.