Patent ID: 7432118

Claim:
A method of forming a vertical cavity surface emitting laser, comprising: forming a first electrical contact on a substrate; forming a first mirror structure on the substrate; forming a first spacer on the first mirror structure; forming an active region on the first mirror structure; forming a second spacer on the active region; forming a second mirror on the second spacer, wherein the second mirror includes a high aluminum content layer having an aluminum concentration sufficient for lateral oxidation of the aluminum content layer; forming a conduction layer over the second mirror; forming a cap layer over the conduction layer; forming a second electrical contact on the cap layer; oxidizing the high aluminum content layer to form an oxide layer that defines an oxide aperture; and ion implanting a region under the oxide layer to form a current confinement aperture, wherein the current confinement aperture has a smaller diameter than the oxide aperture; wherein the first mirror and the second mirror are at least one wavelength apart along an optical path.