Short-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser applications: from high-throughput multimode fiber links to two-dimensional interchip interconnections

An overview is given of recent experiments employing 850 or 980 nm emission wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes (VCSELs) for high-throughput very short reach optical data transmission. For future high-speed building backbones, we demonstrate the first transport of 40 Gbit/s data rates over 300 m of a new generation multimode fiber by means of a four-channel coarse wavelength-division multiplexing system. As an attractive route to overcoming high-speed electrical signaling problems on printed circuit boards, we show 10 Gbit/s per channel data transmission for densely spaced integrated polymer waveguides. Error-free VCSEL operation at 2.5 Gbit/s with a temperature range from -20 to +100°C indicates compatibility with most industrial requirements. Finally, we demonstrate 850-nm bottom-emitting VCSEL arrays for direct flip-chip bonding, which might prove useful for twodimensional future silicon chip-to-chip interconnect solutions.