VCSEL array with common wafer level integrated optical device

A vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) array comprising two, three, four, or more VCSELs arranged on a common semiconductor substrate,

• wherein the VCSEL array further comprises one common optical structure integrated on a wafer level,
• wherein the common optical structure is arranged to transform laser light to transformed laser light such that a continuous illumination pattern can be provided in a reference plane,
• wherein the common optical structure is arranged to increase a size of the illumination pattern in the reference plane in comparison to an untransformed illumination pattern providable without the common optical structure,
• wherein the common optical structure is further arranged such that each of the VCSELs is arranged to illuminate a sector of the illumination pattern, the sector being smaller than the illumination pattern,
• wherein the common optical structure comprises steps such that subsurfaces of the common optical structure with a different height above the common semiconductor substrate are arranged next to each other,
• wherein the common optical structure is a prismatic structure or a Fresnel structure,
• wherein each of the VCSELs is associated with a respective subsurface of the subsurfaces of the common optical structure,
• wherein a distance between each of the VCSELs and a size of the respective subsurface of the common optical structure is arranged such that each of the VCSELs illuminates only a part of the respective subsurface of the common optical structure without illuminating one of the steps,
• wherein the VCSEL array comprises an array of microlenses, and
• wherein each of the VCSELs is associated with a microlens of the array of microlenses, the microlens being arranged to collimate the laser light after traversing the common optical structure.