Impact of Photon Lifetime on the Temperature Stability of 50 Gb/s 980 nm VCSELs

An increase of the small-signal modulation bandwidth to more than 25 GHz that is stable over a wide temperature range from 25 °C to 85 °C is reported upon systematic, joint variations of the photon lifetime and the oxide-aperture diameter for 980-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Error-free back-to-back data transmission at 50 Gb/s from 25 °C to 75 °C for completely unchanged driving conditions is reported, leading to an improved energy efficiency of the laser.