Reliable vertical-cavity components for multimode data communication

Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) operating around 850 nm are finding escalating markets in fiber optical communication applications, currently mainly at data rates between 1 and 2,5 Gbit/s. More than 3 million device hours without failures at temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius proves that the reliability of the VCSEL satisfies the requirements for these applications. Results for oxidized as well as implanted devices are discussed and designs for both common anode and common cathode driving conditions are described. We demonstrate the application of our VCSEL design to arrays with passive alignment for parallel data communication over fiber ribbon. As examples of visible components for communication over plastic optical fiber, results for resonant cavity light emitting diodes will be shown and compared to red VCSELs.