Patent ID: 6636544
Filing Date: 2003-10-21
Classification: H01L,H01S

Abstract:
A monolithic vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array comprising a plurality of tunable VCSELs, each tunable VCSEL having:substantially identical gain spectrums; a unique phase-shift layer thickness and a corresponding unique effective optical cavity length; and means for generating laser light at a selected lasing wavelength within a tuning range, for a given gain spectrum and unique effective optical cavity length, by applying a corresponding tuning condition to the VCSEL, wherein the unique effective optical cavity lengths of the VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs are selected so that (1) under identical tuning conditions, each VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs generates laser light at different lasting wavelengths; and (2) the tuning range of each VCSEL overlaps with the tuning range of at least one other VCSEL so that each VCSEL is capable of generating laser light at a selected lasing wavelength lying within the tuning range of the at least one other VCSEL.