Patent ID: 8649411

Claim:
A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) device comprising: a substrate; an extended structure, said extended structure being positioned on an upper surface of said substrate, said extended structure comprising: a first distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), a second DBR, a light emitting region arranged between the first and second DBRs, and a relief structure arranged at least 100 nanometers above said light emitting region so as to not contact the light emitting region, said relief structure being a partially oxidized aluminum (Al) composition layer laterally etched off, and a central current-confined area comprising a centrally arranged intact remainder of the Al composition layer that is not oxidized and etched off; an insulation layer, said insulation layer having a light emitting aperture, said insulation layer being extended from two ends of said light emitting aperture to cover a part of said first DBR, said light emitting region and said second DBR, wherein said relief structure is positioned within an area between said two extended ends of said insulation layer to align a center of said light emitting aperture with said current-confined area; a p-type contact and pad arranged above the substrate; and an n-type contact and pad also arranged above the substrate.