Sub-micron aperture VCSEL demonstrates ultralow ITH<b> = </b>0.05 mA and energy/bit<b> = </b>45.5 fJ/bit at 3 Kelvin

H Haonan Wu (Institute for Innovative Materials and Energy School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Yangzhou University Yangzhou 225002 China) D Derek Chaw (Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,) Z Zetai Liu (Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,) Y Yulin He (Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,) M Milton Feng (Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,)

Abstract

The 0.9 μm diameter oxide aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are developed for high-speed cryogenic operation. Ultralow threshold current of 0.05 mA was measured at 3 K by optimizing the gain–cavity resonance alignment and reducing the oxide aperture size to sub-micron. The VCSEL exhibits ultrahigh linearity with wide dynamic range of I/Ith &amp;gt; 100. The microcavity VCSELs deliver record energy/bit of 45.5 fJ/bit for 112 Gbps PAM-4 transmission operated at I = 1.8 mA with TDECQ = 3.21 dB. The sub-micron cryogenic VCSEL has proven to be energy-efficient optical transmitter for cryogenic optical interconnects.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 126, Issue 18
Published May 05, 2025
ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher American Institute of Physics

Journal Info

Applied Physics Letters

American Institute of Physics

ISSN: 0003-6951 Physical Sciences

Authors (5)

H

Haonan Wu

Institute for Innovative Materials and Energy School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Yangzhou University Yangzhou 225002 China

D

Derek Chaw

Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,

Z

Zetai Liu

Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,

Y

Yulin He

Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,

M

Milton Feng

Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , 208 N Wright St, Urbana, Illinois 61801,