Characteristics and Reliability of 10 Gbps/Channel 1 ×10 Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Array of 850 nm Wavelength

Abstract

A 10 Gbps/channel 1  10 vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array of 850 nm wavelength was demonstrated for a 100 Gbps (10 Gbps  10) local area network. The VCSEL array was oxidized using an in situ probing technique. The threshold current of each VCSEL on the array is approximately 0.5 mA with the oxide and metal apertures of 8 and 6 mm, respectively. The temperature characteristic of lasing from À40 to 120 C was stable and the f À3 dB cutoff frequency exceeded 10 GHz at 6 mA. The data transmission test through the conventional multimode fiber of 300 m length was carried out. We also investigated the reliability of the VCSEL array at an ambient temperature of 120 C and a dc current of 15 mA. We could achieve a failure rate over a decade below 1% at a temperature and current of 60 C and 7 mA, respectively.