Long wavelength electrically pumped GaSb-based buried tunnel junction VCSELs

Long wavelength lasers are attractive light sources for free-space communications, military countermeasures, medical applications and trace-gas sensing systems by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). As technically important gases, such as CO, CO₂ or CH₄, show strong absorption lines in a wavelength range from 2 to 3.5 μm, one is interested in the development of lasers emitting in that region. The (AlGaIn)(AsSb) material-system based on GaSb is the material of choice for devices in the near- to mid-infrared spectral region. In this paper, we present the device structure, design and results of an electrically-pumped GaSb-based VCSEL. The devices consist of an epitaxial GaSb/AlAsSb distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), a GaInAsSb quantum well gain section, a dielectric top DBR and a buried tunnel junction (BTJ) for electrical as well as optical confinement. Continuous-wave (cw) single-mode emission has been achieved up to a record high ambient temperature of 90 ^{{ring operator}}C. The wavelength is (electro-) thermally tunable from 2345 nm to 2365 nm. A maximum output power of 800 μW has been measured at 0 ^{{ring operator}}C.