Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers for spaceborne photonic interconnects

Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) offer substantial advantages in performance and simplicity of packaging over the edge emitting lasers currently being applied to state-of-the-art photonic interconnects. We have demonstrated operation of VCSELs at cryogenic temperatures and at temperatures as high as 200 degrees Celsius, with a single device operating from minus 55 degrees Celsius to plus 125 degrees Celsius. The devices operate to 14 GHZ and can be operated in excess of 1 GHZ with bias-free operation. Initial radiation tests indicate an order of magnitude improvement in hardness with respect to neutron damage over an LED which is currently used in spaceborne photonic interconnect modules. We also describe the packaging of VCSELs in compact multichip modules. By using passive alignment techniques, optoelectronic devices can be packaged in established multichip module fabrication schemes without adding costly high precision assembly techniques.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.