Bidirectional electrostatic MEMS-tunable VCSELs

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) vertical cavity surface -emitting lasers (VCSELs) are the fastest coherently tunable lasers (nm/ns) due to their unique Doppler -assisted tuning mechanism. However, in standard electrostatic actuation, the response is highly nonlinear and large (>100 V) dynamic voltages are needed for MHz sweep rates. We present a bidirectional MEMS VCSEL as a solution to these challenges where static voltages can be used to enable substantially linear and amplified wavelength tuning with respect to the fast tuning (MEMS) voltage. Using an InP/SOI MEMS bonded structure, we show a tuning range of 54.5 nm (gain limited) centered around 1586 nm at an actuation frequency of 2.73 MHz. (c) 2024 Optica Publishing Group