The performance of high power VCSELs in a specific application depends on the geometrical and thermal design as well as on the quality of the epitaxially grown material. Due to the relatively high heat load in densely packed high power arrays the temperature in the active zone and the DBR mirrors changes significantly with the applied current and the traditional characterization methods become less meaningful than for low power devices. This paper presents a method to measure temperature independent power curves with the help of short pulse techniques and data mapping at different heat sink temperatures. In addition the internal quantum efficiency, the transparency current and the gain coefficient are measured by a novel method which operates the VCSEL material as an edge emitter and applies a cut-back technique. The optical losses in the DBR mirrors are determined using external feedback. In summary all relevant parameters which determine the quality of an epitaxial design are measured independently and can be directly compared with modeling and help to optimize the high power VCSEL performance.

It has been previously published how, using two separate Vertical-Cavity-Surface-Emitting-Lasers (VCSELs), a miniature laser-Doppler interferometer can be made for quasi-three-dimensional displacement measurements. For the use in consumer applications as PC-mice, the manufacturing costs of such sensors need to be minimized. This paper describes the fabrication of a low-cost laser-self-mixing sensor by integrating silicon and GaAs components using flip-chip technology. Wafer-scale lens replication on GaAs wafers is used to achieve integrated optics. In this way a sensor was realized without an external lens and that uses only a single GaAs VCSEL crystal, while maintaining its quasi-three-dimensional sensor capabilities.

There are many applications for non-contact measurement of the displacement and velocity of moving objects, especially when achieved at low cost. An optical displacement sensor has been developed that can be compared to expensive laser-interferometry sensors, however at a cost compatible with requirements for consumer products. This miniature Laser-Doppler Interferometer works on all light scattering surfaces. The first large-scale application is in PC-mice. The measurement principle employs so-called "Laser Self Mixing", which occurs when laser light scattered on a surface, within the coherence length, is coupled back into the laser cavity. When the object is moving, the back-scattered light is continuously shifting in phase relative to the laser light at the laser mirror. This results in a periodic perturbation of the feedback into the laser cavity, which causes modulations of the light intensity in the cavity. The frequency of these modulations is proportional the speed of the object. A VCSEL, optimized for this application, is used as light source, a photo-diode in the sensor measures the intensity fluctuations and, finally, an integrated circuit transfers the photo-diode signal into velocity or displacement information. To determine the direction of the movement, a triangle modulation of the laser-current is used, which modulates the laser-temperature and hence the laser frequency. Next to the applications in PC-mice a much wider range of applications as input device in consumer products can be envisaged. For instance menu navigation by finger movement over a sensor in remote controls, mobile phones and lap tops. Furthermore a wide field of applications is envisaged in the manufacturing of industrial equipment, which requires non-contact measurement of the movement of materials. The small form factor of less than 0.2 cubic centimeters allows applications previously considered impossible.

There are many applications for contactless measurement of the displacement and velocity of moving objects. Philips has developed an optical displacement sensor that can be compared to expensive laser-inteferometry sensors however at a cost compatible with requirements for consumer products. In the paper the design and performance of the miniaturized and highly integrated sensor are discussed The sensor is based on the laser self mixing effect. The small form factor of less than 0.2 cubic centimeters allows applications previously considered impossible.

Gaussian-like filters are frequently used in digital signal transmission. Usually, these filters are made of lumped inductors and capacitors. In the stopband, these filters exhibit a high reflection, which can create unwanted signal interference. To prevent that, a new low-reflection ladder network is introduced that consist of resistors, inductors, and capacitors. The network models fictitious transmission lines with Gaussian-like amplitude characteristics. Starting from the analysis of this network, a procedure is developed for synthesis of a new class of lumped-element RLC filters. These filters have transmission coefficients similar to the classical Bessel filters. In contrast to the Bessel filters, the new filters exhibit a low reflection both in the stopband and passband, they have a small span of element parameters, and they are easy for manufacturing and tuning.

Experimentally and numerically it is shown that near field phase distortion due to optical losses in the contact regions causes a strong dependence of far field widths on cladding layer thickness for typical MQW lasers.<>