Catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD) limits the output power and reliability of laser diodes (LDs). The self-heating of the laser contributes to the facet temperature, but it has not been addressed so far. This study investigates a two-section waveguide method targeting significantly reduced facet temperatures. The LD waveguide is divided into two electrically isolated sections along the cavity: laser and passive waveguide. The laser section is pumped at high current levels to achieve laser output. The passive waveguide is biased at low injection currents to obtain a transparent waveguide with negligible heat generation. This design limits the thermal impact of the laser section on the facet, and a transparent waveguide allows lossless transport of the laser to the output facet. Fabricated GaAs-based LDs have waveguide dimensions of (5-mm) x (100-μm) with passive waveguide section lengths varied from 250 to 1500 μm. The lasers were operated continuous-wave up to the maximum achievable power of around 15 W. We demonstrated that the two-section waveguide method effectively separates the heat load of the laser from the facet and results in much lower facet temperatures (Tf). For instance, at 8 A of laser current, the standard laser has Tf = 90 °C, and a two-section laser with a 1500 μm long passive waveguide section has Tf = 60 °C. While traditional LDs show COMD failures, the multi-section waveguide LDs are COMD-free. Our technique and results provide a pathway for high-reliability LDs, which would find diverse applications in semiconductor lasers.
The output power of a typical single-mode semiconductor laser is limited by its narrow waveguide width required to cut off high-order spatial modes. Conventional techniques rely on engineering the waveguide without introducing higherorder modes. In contrast, this work utilizes the concept of coupled-cavity (CC) structures. A single-mode lasing is achieved by employing a multi-mode and a neighboring single-mode waveguide. The CC approach is based on the resonant coupling of the high-order mode in the wide waveguide to the fundamental mode of a narrower lossy waveguide. First, geometrical dispersion of the CC lasers, such as their width, spacing, and their sensitivity to the resonance, was investigated. After optimizing the design, edge-emitting-lasers were fabricated using high-efficiency GaAs-based structures. Optical mode control and single-mode operation of the design are demonstrated through fundamental optical characterization measurements. The output power curves for the single and CC designs show similar slope efficiencies suggesting the proposed method as a promising approach towards high-power single lateral mode operation of edge-emitting lasers.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.