Patent ID: 7333735
Filing Date: 2008-02-19
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. A method for communicating with a high rate of information transfer, the method comprising: providing two or more vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), spaced apart by a selected separation gap that is no greater than one fourth of a diameter of a VCSEL array element so that the VCSELs are coherently coupled together; providing a common current source connected to all of the VCSELs to provide a steady current biased above a selected threshold current to all of the VCSELs simultaneously, wherein the coherent coupling of the VCSELs produces a near field beam pattern of first and second spaced apart near field beam spots with respective first and second near field beam spot intensities that oscillate relative to each other with a frequency that is at least 32 GHz; and providing a light modulator that receives at least one of the near field beam spots, the modulator having a first state that transmits a received beam, having a second state that does not transmit the received beam, and having a modulator control that switches the modulator between the first state and the second state according to a control signal received by the modulator control.