Demonstration of 3-in full-wafer monolithic fabrication and wafer-level testing of MEMS-tunable single-mode ~1060nm VCSELs

Billions of MEMS devices and VCSELs currently circulate in consumer electronics such as smart phones. MEMS-VCSEL is the cutting edge swept tuned light source for optical coherence tomography with unprecedented speed and tuning bandwidth which dictate image acquisition and resolution respectively. We demonstrated 3-inch full wafer monolithic fabrication and wafer level test of single mode MEMS tunable VCSELs with 100nm tuning range at >500kHz tuning repetition rates, enabling path for high performance light source to meet high-volume, low-cost applications. To the best of our knowledge, Praevium is the first to demonstrate monolithic, wafer scale MEMS combined with VCSELs to produce thousands of dies on a 3-inch full GaAs wafer tested at wafer level. The MEMS release process and uniformity afford full 3-inch wafer level MEMS-VCSEL testing such that individual die can be screened on a modified commercial wafer prober.