Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs): Technology Readiness Overview (TRO)

Emerging photonics technologies will be critical for next generation high performance spacecraft which may include sensor applications generating unprecedented amounts of data. For example, future high resolution multi-wavelength sensor systems will require intensive data transfer and routing on-board satellites. Optical based data busses will have higher performance (e.g. bandwidth, size, etc.), lower weight and power, and reduced sensitivity to electromagnetic effects than copper-based alternatives. Experience at NASA has shown that fiber optic busses also make integration of a spacecraft easier and more efficient, resulting in significant cost savings. A specific photonics technology that shows great promise for high speed intra-satellite data transfer applications is the Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser diode (VCSEL). It is a semiconductor device with light emission perpendicular to the chip surface. The vertical lasing cavity is produced by sequentially grown epitaxial semiconductor layers.