Room-temperature operation of 980-nm transistor-vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We report on the design, fabrication and characterization of pnp-type 980-nm transistor-vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (T-VCSELs). Using an epitaxial regrowth process and a triple-intracavity current injection scheme we demonstrate static performance levels quite comparable to those of conventional VCSELs, including sub-mA threshold base current, mW-range output power and continuous-wave operation at least up to 50°C.