Tunable MEMS VCSEL on Silicon Substrate

Abstract

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a MEMS VCSEL which utilized a silicon on insulator wafer for the microelectromechanical system and encapsulates the MEMS by direct InP wafer bonding in order to improve the protection and control of the tuning element. This can enable more robust fabrication, a larger free spectral range, and bidirectional tuning of the MEMS element. The proposed device uses a high contrast grating mirror on a MEMS stage as the bottom mirror, wafer bondind InP with quantum wells for amplification and a deposited dielectric DBR. A tuning range of 40 nm and a mechanical resonance frequency of $>$ 2 MHz is demonstrated. We present design, fabrication, and characterization of an optically pumped MEMS VCSEL which utilizes a silicon-on-insulator wafer for the microelectromechanical system and encapsulates the MEMS by direct InP wafer bonding, which improves the protection and control of the tuning element. This procedure enables a more robust fabrication, a larger free spectral range, and facilitates bidirectional tuning of the MEMS element. The MEMS VCSEL device uses a high contrast grating mirror on a MEMS stage as the bottom mirror, a wafer-bonded InP with quantum wells for amplification and a deposited dielectric DBR as the top mirror. A 40-nm tuning range and a mechanical resonance frequency in excess of 2 MHz are demonstrated.