Room-temperature performance of double-fused 1.54 /spl mu/m vertical-cavity laser

The progress in understanding wafer-fused vertical-cavity lasers and improvements in fabrication techniques have led to the realization of the first room-temperature continuous-wave operating 1.54-/spl mu/m vertical-cavity lasers. By demonstrating continuous-wave operation at room temperature using vertical-cavity lasers fabricated by two wafer fusion steps, we have shown that wafer fusion is a viable technique. The lasers comprise strain compensated InGaAsP quantum-well active layers sandwiched between two AlGaAs/GaAs quarter-wave mirrors. Characteristics discussed include cavity losses, the gain-current density relationship, and voltage-current characteristics.