Plated trench for parasitic capacitance control of vertical cavity surface emitting laser devices

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) device, comprising:

• a stacked structure comprising a main surface, wherein the stacked structure comprises:
• a first distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirror;
• a second DBR mirror arranged on the first DBR mirror;
• an active layer comprising one or more quantum wells and configured to generate laser light, wherein the active layer is arranged between the first DBR mirror and the second DBR mirror;
• and
• an oxide layer arranged between the active layer and the second DBR mirror, wherein the oxide layer comprises an oxide aperture formed through the oxide layer for limiting a current flow of a current into the active layer, which generates light to form a laser beam;
• a plurality of segmented oxidation trenches that extend from the main surface into the stacked structure to expose the oxide layer for oxidation that forms the oxide aperture, wherein the plurality of segmented oxidation trenches are arranged at a periphery of a device area of the stacked structure in which the oxide aperture is formed;
• and
• a plurality of plating islands that are spatially separated from each other, wherein each plating island of the plurality of plating islands vertically extends into a respective segmented oxidation trench of the plurality of segmented oxidation trenches and seals the respective segmented oxidation trench in order to prevent further oxidation of the oxidation layer,
• wherein the plurality of plating islands are arranged in a discontinuous arc around the periphery of the device area.

A method of forming a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) device, comprising:

• forming a stacked structure comprising a main surface, wherein the stacked structure comprises:
• a first distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirror;
• a second DBR mirror arranged on the first DBR mirror;
• an active layer comprising one or more quantum wells and configured to generate laser light, wherein the active layer is arranged between the first DBR mirror and the second DBR mirror;
• and
• an oxide layer arranged between the active layer and the second DBR mirror;
• forming a plurality of segmented oxidation trenches that extend from the main surface into the stacked structure to expose the oxide layer for oxidation to form an oxide aperture that extends through a thickness dimension of the oxide layer, wherein the oxide aperture is configured to limit a current flow of a current into the active layer, which generates light to form a laser beam,
• wherein the plurality of segmented oxidation trenches are arranged at a periphery of a device area of the stacked structure in which the oxide aperture is formed;
• and
• forming a plurality of plating islands that are spatially separated from each other, wherein each plating island of the plurality of plating islands vertically extends into a respective segmented oxidation trench of the plurality of segmented oxidation trenches and seals the respective segmented oxidation trench in order to prevent further oxidation of the oxidation layer,
• wherein the plurality of plating islands are arranged in a discontinuous arc around the periphery of the device area.