Researchers from the Sandia National Laboratories' Center for Compound Semiconductor Science and Technology in Albuquerque, N.M., have constructed a monolithic coupled-resonator vertical-cavity laser that produces up to 6.1 mW of output in single-fundamental-mode operation.

As reported in the Dec. 17 issue of Applied Physics Letters, the laser combines an ion-implanted top cavity and a selectively oxidized bottom cavity to produce the high output with side-mode suppression ratios greater than 30 dB. The researchers hope to someday achieve fundamental TEM₀₀ mode operation with the laser, thus making it suitable for applications such as data communications, laser printing and optical read/write heads.