Patent ID: 8406266

Claim:
A three-terminal vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) comprising: a substrate having at least a top surface and a bottom surface; an emitter contact corresponding to a first terminal; a first plurality of n-type layers disposed on top of the top surface of the substrate, wherein the first plurality of n-type layers comprise pairs of layers of alternating high and low refractive index that operate as a first distributed Bragg reflector (DBR); at least one n-type cavity confining layer disposed on top of the first plurality of n-type layers; a plurality of active layers containing one or more quantum wells disposed on top of the n-type cavity confining layer, the active layers comprising a light-emitting material and being either lightly p-doped or intrinsic; at least one p-type cavity confining layer disposed on top of the plurality of active layers; a base contact disposed on or in a portion of the p-type cavity confining layer such that the base contact is in contact with at least one of the active layers, the base contact corresponding to a second terminal of the VCSEL; a second plurality of n-type layers disposed on top of a portion of the p-type cavity confining layer, wherein the second plurality of n-type layers comprise pairs of layers of alternating high and low refractive index that operate as a reflector; and a collector contact disposed on or in a portion of at least one of the second plurality of n-type layers such that the collector contact is in contact with at least one of the n-type layers of the second plurality, and wherein the collector contact corresponds to a third terminal of the VCSEL.