VCSELs as highly sensitive stand-alone distance sensors

A. Günther; D. Korat; K. Kapadia; B. Roth; W. Kowalsky

doi:10.1117/12.2611352

2 March 2022 VCSELs as highly sensitive stand-alone distance sensors

A. Günther, D. Korat, K. Kapadia, B. Roth, W. Kowalsky

Proceedings Volume 12020, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XXVI; 120200H (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2611352
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2022, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We report on a novel sensor concept based on a coupled resonator configuration and the employment of vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) sources. The back reflection of a sample surface next to the emission window of the laser source affects the internal resonator conditions of the VCSEL resulting in a change of the emitted wavelength and operating current, respectively, if the operating voltage is kept constant. The behavior of the VCSEL in this scenario was investigated for both the near and the far field which offers the potential for different types of measurement applications. First experimental results show a measurable and reproducible change of the operating current when moving the sample by as little as a few nm in vertical direction. This behavior was also verified with a simulation based on ANSYS Lumerical by creating distributed Bragg reflection (DBR) stacks with different layers and quantifying the influence of the movable third resonator surface on the emission wavelength. In the next steps, the new sensor system will be integrated into an inline production chain for additive optics manufacturing to supervise the manufacturing accuracy and realize a feedback loop for the correction of process imperfections.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

A. Günther, D. Korat, K. Kapadia, B. Roth, and W. Kowalsky "VCSELs as highly sensitive stand-alone distance sensors", Proc. SPIE 12020, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XXVI, 120200H (2 March 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2611352

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