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Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with vertically integrated electro-absorption modulators (EAM-VCSELs) potentially can reach higher modulation bandwidths than directly current-modulated VCSELs. The aforementioned device modulation capabilities are, however, currently restricted by their electrical contact parasitics. It, thus, becomes critical to optimize their access line to improve performance. In this paper, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that a microstrip (MS) access line using a planarized benzocyclobutene (BCB) layer exhibits improved high-frequency characteristics compared to the coplanar waveguide (CPW) access line used to-date, since it reduces the losses induced by the doped substrates. We also use this opportunity to introduce an innovative technique for BCB layer planarization, which is not only compatible with the EAM-VCSEL double-mesa structure, but is also independent of the device pitch. The resulting BCB layer dielectric permittivity and losses are measured up to 100 GHz, and a side-by-side comparison of the electrical response of three-electrodes MS and CPW access lines is subsequently carried out. Finally, using the measured pad and access line RF responses and the EAM modulation characteristics, the devices with MS access are shown to be no longer limited by their electrode parasitics, but by the modulator internal impedance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the experimental and theoretical assessments of the optical characteristics of recently introduced vertically coupled microdisk resonators made by the selective oxidation of AlGaAs multilayer structures. Experimental measurements show that the Q-factors are in the 103–104 range for diameters ranging from 75 to $300~\mu \text{m}$. To establish the origins of this limited performance, a coupled-mode-theory-based model of the single-access-waveguide-coupled resonator system was developed. It includes features which are specific to oxide-based vertically coupled resonators, namely, losses toward the slab waveguide lying under the resonator and a coupling region with an asymmetric and multilayer structure. Setting this simulation tool required the proposal and validation of a general criterion to select an appropriate set of decomposition permittivity profiles to be able to accurately model the characteristics of these more complex couplers using the coupled-mode-theory approach. This theoretical development is generic and can be now deployed to simulate any device which includes multiwaveguide couplers with arbitrary piece-wise-constant profile of the dielectric permittivity. Exploiting this particular development and experimental measurements of the disk sidewall roughness and of the coupling lengths, the calculated and experimental Q-factors are found to be in good agreement and allow establishing that the current performance is limited by the scattering losses and the slab leakage losses for small- and large-diameter devices, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we report the first experimental demonstration of microdisk resonators that are vertically coupled to their buried access waveguides on III–V semiconductor epitaxial structures using an original fabrication process. The here-proposed and validated three-dimensional integration scheme exploits selective lateral thermal oxidation of aluminium-rich AlGaAs layers. Compared with the previously reported processing techniques, this new scheme is simpler as it does not require any planarization or substrate transfer steps. As a proof-of-principle demonstration of this approach, 250- \mu \textm diameter microdisk devices exhibiting quality factor reaching $\sim 8500$ have been successfully fabricated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]