Dynamic phase manipulation of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers via on-chip integration of microfluidic channels

Description

Vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have experienced a rapid development to become one of the key components for the development of the next generation of optoelectronic technologies. Dynamic phase manipulation of VCSELs within a compact system with low-power consumption is highly desired for a large variety of applications. In this work, we incorporate the emerging microfluidic technique into the conventional VCSELs through a monolithic integration approach, enabling dynamic phase control of lasing emissions with low power consumption and low thermal generation. As a proof of concept, a beam steering device is experimentally demonstrated by directly integrating microfluidic channel on a coherently coupled VCSELs array. The results show that the deflection angles of the laser beam from the chip can be tuned from 0 o to 2.4 o under the injection of liquids with different refractive index into the microchannel. This implementation of compact laser systems with real-time wavefront controllability, low power-consumption and low heat generation, holds great potentials in various applications, including optical fiber communications, laser printing, optical sensing, directional displays, and ultra-compact light detection and ranging (LiDAR).

Abstract

International audience

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