The output performance of a 980-nm broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser(VCSEL) is improved by optimizing the p-electrode diameter in this study.Based on a three-dimensional finite-element method,the current density distribution within the active region of the VCSEL is optimized through the appropriate adjustment of the p-electrode diameter,and uniform current-density distribution is achieved.Then,the effects of this optimization are studied experimentally.The L-I-V characteristics under different temperatures of the VCSELs with different p-electrode diameters are investigated,and better temperature stability is demonstrated in the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter.The far-field measurements show that with an injected current of 2 A,the far-field divergence angle of the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter is 9°,which is much lower than the far-field angle of the VCSEL without this optimization.Also the VCSEL with an optimized p-electrode diameter shows a better near-field distribution.
