High-Power High-Efficiency 2D VCSEL Array and Self-Scanning 1D VCSEL Array

Abstract

Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) arrays are very promising light sources for heating, sensor applications, and optical wireless power transmission. Arrays have hundreds of VCSELs, a few bonding pads, and all of the VCSELs are connected to the same electrode to simultaneously emit light. Their advantages include a higher output power than watts, a high power conversion efficiency exceeding 40%, and so on. Recently arrays with hundreds of VCSELs that can emit light individually are needed for such applications without mechanical devices as MEMS and polygon mirrors. But conventional VCSEL arrays need the same number of bonding pads, gold wires, substrate wirings, and IC driver terminals as emitters, thus taking up more space and increasing application costs. We propose an all monolithically integrated self-scanning VCSEL array that can individually emit light, even though it has only five bonding pads regardless of how many emitters it has.