Improvement of kink characteristics performance of GaAs VCSEL with a indium-tin-oxide top transparent overcoating

We demonstrated the enhancement in the performance of proton-implanted GaAs VCSEL by incorporation of a new p-contact scheme using a Ti and ITO transparent overcoating on the regular p-contact. The kink characteristics in light output power versus current ( L– I) curve of the VCSEL with the Ti/ITO overcoating were improved with a reduction in the derivative kink factor of as large as 70%. The high-speed response of the overcoated device also shows a more open clear eye and lower jitter of 35 ps operating at 2.125 Gb/s under 10 mA bias and 9 dB extinction ratio compared to the no overcoated device. Better current spreading and uniformity induced by the overcoating could be responsible for these performance improvements.