Ultra-compact VCSEL scanner for high power solid-state beam steering

Abstract

We demonstrate the lateral monolithic integration of a tunable first-order surface-grating loaded vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and slow-light waveguide with fan-beam steering and amplifier function. Shallow Bragg-grating formed on the surface of a VCSEL section enables the selection of a single slow-light mode, which can be coupled into the integrated long waveguide and amplified through pumping the amplifier above threshold. We obtained over 3W amplified slow-light power with single-mode operation and over 4W amplified quasi-single-mode power under pulsed current injection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power for single-mode VCSELs. Solid-state beam steering of the device is also demonstrated with 9° fan-beam steering range and 200 resolution points.