Future prospects of VCSELs: industrial view

Research and development of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) has made rapid progress in recent years. VCSEL array link modules have been developed with increasing speed by American consortiums such as OETC and POLO. On the other hand, high-performance VCSELs, such as low-threshold or high wall-plug efficiency ones, are being developed using AlAs selective oxidation. With this background, we describe the future prospects of VCSELs from an industrial viewpoint. The topics discussed include: reliability; low-voltage and low-power operations; and module assembly techniques. The authors conclude that the VCSEL is a promising device for achieving optical interconnections.