REDUCED OPTICAL-SCATTERING LOSS IN VERTICAL-CAVITY LASERS USING A THIN (300 ANGSTROM) OXIDE APERTURE

Calculations show that significant optical scattering loss persists as standard quarter-wave (800 Angstrom) thick, dielectrically apertured vertical cavity laser diameters are reduced below 4 mu m and that thin ner apertures can reduce the scattering loss, By using a thin (300 Ang strom) AlAs-oxide defined aperture, optical scattering loss has been d ramatically reduced over the quarter-wave AlAs-oxide defined vertical- cavity laser, The optical loss reduction results in 2.3 mu m diameter lasers with differential efficiencies of 0.43 (80% of the value of bro ad-area lasers) and continuous-wave single-mode powers of 1.2 mW.