Local degradation of selectively oxidized AlGaAs/AlAs distributed Bragg reflectors in lateral-injection vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We show the local degradation of a selectively oxidized top distributed Bra gg reflector (DBR) in a lateral-junction vertical-cavity surface-emitting l aser (LJ-VCSEL) working at room temperature in continuous-wave operation. T he measurements were carried out by a scanning microluminescence system use d in reflection mode. The injection of a few milliamps in continuous-wave o peration at room temperature in the LJ-VCSEL induces damage both in the DBR s and in the active area. The submicron resolution maps of the reflected la ser intensity, recorded from the top surface of the LJ-VCSEL, show a strong local change in the top DBR reflectivity before and after current injectio n. The mu -photoluminescence map, recorded after the device failure, shows that the radiative recombination is strongly decreased in the damaged area of the device. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)00551 -9].