Development of VCSELs for cyogenic (4.
2 K) optical
interfaces
Jukka Viheriälä, Topi Uusitalo, Heikki Virtanen, Behzad Namvar, Patrik
Rajala, Sanna Ranta, Teemu Hakkarainen, Antti Tukiainen, Guilhem
Almuneau, Mircea Guina
To cite this version:
Jukka Viheriälä, Topi Uusitalo, Heikki Virtanen, Behzad Namvar, Patrik Rajala, et al.. Development
of VCSELs for cyogenic (4.2 K) optical interfaces. 2023 IEEE Photonics Society Summer Topicals
Meeting Series (SUM), Jul 2023, Sicile, Italy. pp.1-2, �10.1109/SUM57928.2023.10224417�. �hal-
03998281�
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Development of VCSELs for cyogenic (4.2 K)
optical interfaces
Jukka Viheriälä Topi Uusitalo Heikki Virtanen Behzad Namvar
Engineering and Natural Engineering and Natural Engineering and Natural Engineering and Natural
Sciences Sciences Sciences Sciences
Tampere University Tampere University Tampere University Tampere University
Tampere, Finalnd Tampere, Finalnd Tampere, Finalnd Tampere, Finalnd
[Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link]
Patrik Rajala Sanna Ranta Teemu Hakkarainen Antti Tukiainen
Engineering and Natural Engineering and Natural Engineering and Natural Engineering and Natural
Sciences Sciences Sciences Sciences
Tampere University Tampere University Tampere University Tampere University
Tampere, Finalnd Tampere, Finalnd Tampere, Finalnd Tampere, Finalnd
[Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link]
Guilhem Almuneau Mircea Guina
LAAS-CNRS, Université de Engineering and Natural
Toulouse, CNRS, 7 Avenue du Sciences
Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, Tampere University
France Tampere, Finalnd
[Link]@[Link] [Link]@[Link]
Abstract— Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers operating Besides offering immense affordability, VCSELs allow
at 4.2K are developed for energy efficient optical links relatively high data bandwidths, very compact size, and low
between cryogenic systems and room-temperature data power consumption. Such performance-KPIs are topical also for
storage systems. Design considerations, material models, and cryogenic photonics towards quantum computing. Although
validation of required electro-optical-thermal models are there are some very early demonstrations from cryogenically
presented. Successful operation at mA-level injection is operated VCSELs ([5], down to 77 K and [6] down to 6 K) only
demonstrated. very recently high-performance lasers with power consumption
below 100 fJ/bit have become available [7].
Keywords—VCSEL, LD, Laser, cryogenic This work focuses on analyzing VCSEL operation at 300 K
to 4.2 K temperature range by exploring physical models behind
I. INTRODUCTION VCSEL operation. Focus is towards understanding microcavity
Quantum computing has captured a tremendous level of interest – gain resonance condition and its temperature dependency, to
owing to its predicted computational power that can solve develop working electrical models under conditions where
problems that cannot be tackled efficiently using classical thermionic emission is limited and to understand internal
supercomputer schemes [1]. To maintain quantum coherence, thermal profiles in VCSEL during its low (ambient) temperature
majority of quantum computing systems involve operation at operation. We present performance merits for fabricated devices
cryogenic temperature. While quantum processing with a and analyze main limiting factors towards low energy per bit
limited number of qubits has been demonstrated in many types operation.
of systems, scaling of the number of qubits to achieve
computation supremacy has to overcome limitations related to II. DEVICE STRUCTURE AND FABRICATION
interfacing with room temperature systems [2]. In other words, Top emitting VCSEL device structure included, on n-
the increasing number of electrical wirings not only introduces substrate, 36-periodshigh reflective Bragg mirror (DBR) formed
bandwidth limit but also more heat into cryostat, requiring larger with n-Al0.12GaAs high-index and n-Al0.9GaAs low-index
and more complex cryostat to preserve the quantum features. layers. Top-DBR was formed with 26 pairs of p-Al0.12GaAs
Expectation is that optical fiber connections could provide more high-index and p-Al0.9GaAs low-index layers. Top DBR stack
scalable solution as data bandwidth in a fiber can be very high also included 15 nm thick p-Al0.98GaAs layer for thermal wet
and as silica fibers offer relatively high thermal insulation [3]. oxidation. Microcavity was formed between top and bottom
At room temperature, short haul optical transceivers [4] DBRs from NID-Al0.25GaAs and contained three 5-nm-thick
utilize often vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs). In0.12GaAs Quantum Wells (QWs). Topmost layer on the p-side
XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE
was p-GaAs for electrical contact. This device structure was confinement and increased thermionic emission lifetime.
grown with solid source molecular beam epitaxy. Devices showed strong voltage increase compared to room
Top emitting wet oxidized device structure was formed by temperature operation (as shown in figure 2). This is partially
fast three lithography step process designed to provide fast due to many heterointerfaces in DBR-structure causing voltage
feedback between design rounds. First lithography step was increase to build up over device structure. Presentation
towards making different size of mesa structures that were dry elaborates directions towards better electrical design.
etched and subsequently wet oxidized. Furthermore, p-epi-side
20 3
of the wafer was insulated and planarized with SiO2 and BCB- 4K
10K
2,5 20K
layers. These layers were patterned towards removing insulation 15
40K
Power / a.u.
75K
from top of the mesa after which p-metal was deposited to form 2 150K
200K
Voltage (V)
p-contact and p-contact pad. Substrate was thinned down to 10 1,5
100 µm and backside was metallized with AuGeNi/Au and 1
5
thermal annealed. 0,5
0 0
III. MICROCAVITY DESING AND VALIDATION 0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 5 10 15 20
Current / µA Current (mA)
Microcavity design aims to achieve proper detuning between Left: Current-Output power curve around 4.2 K. Right: p-DBR mirror I-V
QWs emission and the microcavity to enable low threshold curve as a function of temperature.
operation. Photoluminescence measurements on QW indicate
that the rate of changing emission-wavelength with temperature CONCLUSIONS
was reduced at average 0.13 nm / K when temperature was Results show that properly optimized VCSEL can be in many
dropped from room temperature to 4.2 K. Furthermore, we ways ideal source for short haul data-transfer from a system
developed reflectance measurement system that was able to operating at cryo-conditions to receiver either in cold or at room
extract microcavity resonance vs wavelength from reflectance.
temperature. At cryo-conditions these micro-cavity devices
As shown in figure 1, this system allowed measurements
show significantly reduced lasing threshold current indicating
characterizing non-linear reduction of resonance wavelength at
low temperatures. Measurements were fitted to reflectance potentially very low power consumption. However, VCSEL
index model for low and high index DBR-layers. Results devices require careful heterointerfaces design taking in
indicated that refractive index contrast is maintained over whole considerations arising relatively low thermionic emission at
temperature range, indicating that mirrors reflectance are not 4.2 K.
significantly changed over the operational temperature range.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
However, extracted index values differed from the model
predicted values at temperatures below 100 K. Authors wish to acknowledge funding from EU under grant
agreement 899558 towards project aCryComm and Finnish
0
Academy Flagship program in photonics, PREIN.
deviation from RT (nm)
-5
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indicating threshold current density of 500 A/cm2. Spectral
measurements at 30 K showed cavity-gain detuning of -6 nm at
operation wavelength around 860 nm. In comparison to
reference devices designed for room temperature operation, we
estimated that low temperature operation allows 5 times lower
threshold current density due to effects such as better carrier
