Proceedings Article | 1 April 1992
Greg Olbright, Jack Jewell, Robert Bryan, Thomas Brennan
KEYWORDS: Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, Integrated optics, Photonic integrated circuits, Transistors, Micro optics, Optoelectronics, Logic, Gallium arsenide, Nonlinear optics, Field effect transistors
In the future optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) are destined to evolve into sophisticated functional circuitry upon which a multiplicity of applications will be based, such as: optical communications, optical interconnects, optical computing, optical memory, laser printing and scanning, visual displays, pattern recognition, and neural networks. This evolution of OEICs involves the integration of phototransmitters (semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes), photoreceivers (photodetectors and phototransistors), spatial-light modulators, transistors (bipolar and field-effect), diodes, resistors and capacitors, and micro- optic components (e.g., micro lenses). We describe our efforts to date and future directions which are concentrated on the integration of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes (VCSELs) with transistors, photoreceivers, and micro-optic components. VCSELs, which may be patterned in high densities (over a million in a square cm) and emit light perpendicular to the plane of the substrate, have an ideal light-emitting geometry for the above mentioned applications and for integration with micro-optic components. We describe our efforts to develop monolithic surface-emitting laser logic devices, which we refer to as CELLs, consisting of phototransistors, current controlled bipolar transistors, and voltage-controlled field-effect transistors integrated with a VCSEL to form optically and electrically addressable photonic switching devices having high contrast. We also discuss the integration of micro- optics with VCSELs. Finally, we describe combinations of OEIC components and subassemblies and their applications to several of the above mentioned photonic switching applications.
