Patent ID: 8605765

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) comprising a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers including a light-generating active region, an N-type distributed Bragg reflector (N-DBR) layer above the substrate, a P-type DBR (P-DBR) layer above the N-DBR layer, and a metal electrical contact layer above the P-DBR layer, the metal electrical contact layer having an optical opening, the active region generating light in response to an injected electrical charge, the generated light directed through the optical opening in a direction substantially along a central optical axis normal to a plane of the substrate; and a pattern formed in an annular region in a layer between the metal electrical contact layer and the P-DBR layer, the pattern extending in the annular region substantially continuously around the central optical axis outside the optical opening and directly beneath the metal electrical contact layer.