Etched lattice effects in edge-emitters and VCSELs - PBG effects or not?

Summary form only given. There has been a significant amount of study world-wide on etching PBG structures into both VCSELs and edge-emitting lasers. The results of experiments etching PBGs structures into the DBRs of GaAs-based proton-implanted and oxide confined VCSELs using focussed ion beam etching (FIBE) are presented. The results of etching a small section of a PBG lattice on either side of the ridge waveguide in an edge-emitting laser are also be presented. A side mode suppression ratio improvement of 40dB has been observed through this technique. This has been modelled using a finite difference time domain model to understand if this is indeed a PBG effect.