Room‐temperature operation of transistor vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting laser

Abstract

The first room‐temperature operation of a transistor vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting laser (T‐VCSEL) is demonstrated. Fabricated using an epitaxial regrowth process, the T‐VCSEL is electrically a pnp‐type bipolar junction transistor and consists of an undoped AlGaAs/GaAs bottom DBR, an InGaAs triple‐quantum‐well active layer, an Si/SiO 2 dielectric top DBR, and an intracavity contacting scheme with three electrical terminals. The output power is controlled by the base current in combination with the emitter‐collector voltage, showing a voltage‐controlled operation mode. A low threshold base‐current of 0.8 mA and an output power of 1.8 mW have been obtained at room temperature. Continuous‐wave operation was performed up to 50°C.