Impact of photon lifetime on thermal rollover in 850-nm high-speed VCSELs

• We present an empirical thermal model for VCSELs based on extraction of temperature dependence of macroscopic VCSEL parameters from CW measurements. We apply our model to two, oxide-confined, 850-nm VCSELs, fabricated with a 9-mu m inner-aperture diameter and optimized for high-speed operation. We demonstrate that for both these devices, the power dissipation due to linear heat sources dominates the total self-heating. We further show that reducing photon lifetime down to 2 ps drastically reduces absorption heating and improves device static performance by delaying the onset of thermal rollover. The new thermal model can identify the mechanisms limiting the thermal performance and help in formulating the design strategies to ameliorate them.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Elektroteknik och elektronik -- Telekommunikation (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering -- Telecommunications (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Heat sources

thermal effects

Thermal Performance

vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

carrier leakage

Vertical cavity surface emitting laser

Thermal model

Surface emitting lasers

Thermal rollover

High-speed operation

Photons

Temperature dependence

photon lifetime

High-speed

Thermography (temperature measurement)

Static performance

Self-heating

Design strategies

Publication and Content Type

kon (subject category)

ref (subject category)