光泵浦半导体垂直外腔面发射激光器的原理与应用

The Principle and Application of the Optically Pumped Vertical-external-cavity Surface-emitting Laser

光泵浦半导体垂直外腔面发射激光器(OPS-VECSEL)是二极管泵浦的多量子阱增益介质半导体激光器。近年来,光泵浦垂直外腔面发射激光器作为半导体能带工程的新成果,在理论和实验方面均取得了令人触目的进展。该器件具有较高的输出功率、卓越的光束质量和紧凑的结构。薄片式的激活介质避免了棒状介质的热透镜效应,周期性共振增益(PRG)结构提高了多量子阱内的受激辐射截面,分布布拉格反射器(DBR)减少了谐振腔的损耗。相对于晶体棒作激活介质的固体激光器来说,这种新型激光器可以通过半导体能带工程提供更加广泛的波长选择范围。它克服了电泵浦边发射和电泵浦面发射半导体激光器的限制,可以提供近衍射极限的基模或TEM01模的圆形光斑。

The semiconductor vertical external cavity surface emitting laser pumped by light, （OPS-VECSEL） is a diode pumped solid state laser with a semiconductor multi-quantum well gain medium. Recently as a new harvest of the bandgap engineering of the semiconductor, OPS-VECSEL is a promising candidate of a high quality laser in science research and industry process. OPS-VECSEL has shown some excellence in power, beam quality and structure. The disk about 2 thickness and 5 × 5mm area of OPS-VECSEL material gain avoids thermo-optic effects in the crystal rod. Its resonant periodic gain （RPG） structure enhances the stimulated emission section and the distributed bragg reflector （DBR）, which is also a epitaxy stack on the RPG and reduces loss of the optical resonator. Compared OPS-VECSEL to solid-state lasers, the new type of laser may provide significantly increased wavelength variability by material selection and bandgap engineering of the semiconductor. It overcomes the limitation of conventional electricity pumped edge- or/and surface- emitting semiconductor lasers and can offer either near diffraction limited fundamental mode or TEM01 mode.