VCSELs as highly sensitive stand-alone distance sensors

authored by

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

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.

Organisation(s)

Hannover Centre for Optical Technologies (HOT)
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines

External Organisation(s)

Technische Universität Braunschweig

Type

Conference contribution

Publication date

2022

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Condensed Matter Physics, Computer Science Applications, Applied Mathematics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2611352 (Access: Closed)