Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

It is a presentation of the first long-wavelength VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) based on the material system InGaAsN/GaAs with reasonable performance for data communication.

  Does it describe a new discovery or a new methodology that's useful to others?

Neither VCSELs nor the material InGaAsN are new (the first had been introduced in 1979 by Iga et al., the latter is known since the publication of Kondow et al. in 1995), but it was the first successful combination of both with the means of a high-Q resonator explained in the paper.

  What were some of the circumstances that led you to do this research?

It was a combination of the economic needs for a cost-saving reduction of consumed power while at the same time a consideration of the larger reach for both serial and parallel optical data transmission.

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

With this technology the goal has been reached to realize low-cost transmitters for data communication containing both highest modulation-speed and lowest power consumption while at the same time optimized for fiber-transmission emitting in the optimum wavelength-window for coverage of reasonable distances.  Compared to existing VCSEL technology at 850nm about 30 - 100 times larger distances can be covered with the same electrical and optical power.  Additionally, new technological fields like on-chip optical interconnects can be propelled—since silicon is transparent at this wavelength—enabling the integration of cross-talk-free optical buses with low heat dissipation.

Dr.-Ing. Gunther Steinle
Project Manager 1300nm VCSEL
Infineon Technologies
Munich , Germany