Patent ID: 7020172

Claim:
A vertical cavity surface emitting laser, comprising: a substrate; an n-type mirror adjacent said substrate, said n-type mirror comprising alternating layers of a first semiconductor material having a first index of refraction and a second semiconductor material having a second index of refraction greater than said first index of refraction, and further comprising a step graded interfacial transition layer therebetween, said step graded interfacial transition layer being doped n-type wherein a concentration of dopant in said step graded interfacial transition layer is about 2–6 times greater than concentration of dopant in said alternating layers of said n-type mirror; an optical cavity comprising an active region having one or more In x Ga 1-x As y N 1-y quantum wells adjacent said n-type mirror; a second mirror adjacent the optical cavity; an upper electrode above the active region of the optical cavity; and a lower electrode below the active region of the optical cavity.