Bonded tunable VCSEL with bi-directional actuation
AssigneeExcelitas Technologies Corp.
InventorsJames W. Getz, Peter S. Whitney
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A MEMS tunable VCSEL includes a membrane device having a mirror and a distal-side electrostatic cavity for displacing the mirror to increase a size of an optical cavity. A VCSEL device includes an active region for amplifying light. Then, one or more proximal-side electrostatic cavities are defined between the VCSEL device and the membrane device and used to displace the mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity.
Claims16
A tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), comprising:
- a VCSEL device including an active region for amplifying light;
- a membrane device having a mirror and first and second proximal-side electrostatic cavities between the VCSEL device and the membrane device for displacing the mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity associated with the VCSEL device;
- a first proximal-side electrostatic cavity driver configured to control the first proximal-side electrostatic cavity;
- and
- a second proximal-side electrostatic cavity driver, different from the first proximal-side electrostatic cavity driver, configured to control the second proximal-side electrostatic cavity.
A method of tuning a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), comprising:
- amplifying light in a VCSEL device including an active region;
- controlling a first driver to drive a first proximal-side electrostatic cavity between the VCSEL device and a membrane device for displacing a mirror to decrease a size of an optical cavity;
- and
- controlling a second driver to drive a second proximal-side electrostatic cavity between the VCSEL device and the membrane device for displacing the mirror to further decrease the size of the cavity.
A tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), comprising:
- a VCSEL device including an active region for amplifying light;
- a membrane device having a displaceable mirror and first and second proximal-side electrostatic cavities between the VCSEL device and the membrane device for decreasing a size of an optical cavity associated with the VCSEL device;
- a proximal-side electrostatic cavity driver configured to control the first proximal-side electrostatic cavity;
- first and second electrical contacts associated with the second proximal-side electrostatic cavity;
- and
- an electrical connection shorting the first and second electrical contacts to one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.