Continuous wave operation of current injected GaN vertical cavity surface emitting lasers at room temperature

We report the demonstration of the continuous wave laser action on GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting lasers at room temperature. The laser structure consists of a ten-pair Ta(2)O(5)/SiO(2) distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), a 7 lambda-thick optical cavity, ten-pairs InGaN/GaN multiquantum wells with an AlGaN electron blocking layer, and a 29-pair AlN/GaN DBR. The laser has a threshold current of about 9.7 mA corresponding to the current density of about 12.4 kA/cm(2) and a turn-on voltage about 4.3 V at 300 K. The lasing wavelength was 412 nm with a linewidth of about 0.5 nm. A spontaneous emission coupling efficiency factor of about 5x10(-3) and the degree of polarization of about 55% were measured, respectively. The laser beam has a narrow divergence angle of about 8 degrees. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3483133]