Room-temperature continuous wave lasing characteristics of a GaAs vertical cavity surface-emitting laser

Room-temperature continuous wave (cw) operation of a GaAs vertical microcavity surface-emitting laser has been achieved. An ultrashort cavity device with a cavity length of ∼5.5 μm was grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. cw lasing characteristics such as mode properties and temperature characteristics were examined. Single longitudinal mode operation with a side mode suppression ratio of 35 dB was obtained. The temperature range for single mode operation was more than 50 K.