Lab Produces 1.3-micron VCSEL

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., have developed a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) that may find applications in long-haul optical networks. The device, which they constructed of layers of AlGaAs, GaAs and InGaAsN, produces light at 1.3 µm.

The VCSEL has an output of approximately 60 µW, which Sandia researcher John F. Klem said is the result of the group's decision to employ a more conservative design for the demonstrator. "If you go for higher output," he said, "it may not lase at all." Klem noted that the output is nearly suitable for telecommunications applications.

The work is the result of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Cielo Communications Inc. of Broomfield, Colo.