A microtip self-written on a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser by photopolymerization

International audienceWe present the integration of a self-aligned microtip on a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser ͑VCSEL͒ by near infrared photopolymerization. This one-step fabrication process is triggered by the laser source itself. It is based on the use of photopolymers sensitive at the lasing wavelength and can be applied to VCSEL devices after their process fabrication. We have characterized the fabricated microtips and shown that they focus laser light at few micrometers from the device. The applications of this simple method may concern VCSEL beam shaping as well as the fabrication of microprobes for near-field optical microscopy. VCSELs ͑vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers͒ are now key light sources for photonic interconnects and for instrumentation and sensing applications. The potentialities which have already been demonstrated as well as the flexibility of these laser devices have recently strongly contributed to the rise of extended applications related to microsys-tems and in particular to biomedical instrumentation