Patent ID: 8451875

Claim:
A VCSEL comprising: a substrate; an essentially undoped bottom DBR mirror disposed on the substrate; a periodically doped first conduction layer region of a first conductivity type, the first conduction layer region coupled to the bottom DBR mirror and having a heavily doped layer at a location where the optical electric field is at about a minimum; an active layer region disposed on the first conduction layer region that contains one or more migration enhanced epitaxy layer regions before and between N-containing quantum wells each migration enhanced epitaxy layer region having at least one flattened layer under on a substrate side of a N-containing layer of the migration enhanced epitaxy layer region or a substrate side of the N-containing quantum well, wherein the quantum wells are InGaAsN quantum wells with Sb, wherein the nitrogen concentration is about 2% and the concentration of the In is less than about 28% and In and Sb together is less than or equal to about 28%; a periodically doped second conduction layer region of a second conductivity type, the doped second conduction layer region coupled to the active layer region and having a heavily doped layer at a location where the optical electric field is at about a minimum; a ramp layer region positioned between the periodically doped second donduction layer region and an aperture, the ramp layer region including a ramp of aluminum in a composition of the ramp layer region; and a top mirror coupled to the second conduction layer region, wherein: the aperture being above the quantum wells and below the periodically doped second conduction layer region and being defined by an oxidized AlGaAs layer; the top mirror is essentially undoped and includes a plurality of layers of AlGaAs having an aluminum content in a range from 70% to 100%; and a protective oxide layer surrounding the top mirror to protect at least a portion of the top mirror from being oxidized during a wet oxidation step, wherein the heavily doped layer of the periodically doped second conduction layer region, the ramp layer region, and the oxidized AlGaAs layer are within a single null of a standing wave of the VCSEL.