GaN based ultraviolet laser diodes

In the past few years,many groups have focused on the research and development of GaN-based ultraviolet laser diodes(UV LDs).Great progresses have been achieved even though many challenges exist.In this article,we analyze the challenges of developing GaN-based ultraviolet laser diodes,and the approaches to improve the performance of ultraviolet laser diode are reviewed.With these techniques,room temperature(RT)pulsed oscillation of AlGaN UVA(ultraviolet A)LD has been realized,with a lasing wavelength of 357.9 nm.Combining with the suppression of thermal effect,the high output power of 3.8 W UV LD with a lasing wavelength of 386.5 nm was also fabricated.

Gallium nitride blue laser diodes with pulsed current operation exceeding 15 W in optical output power

Since Shuji Nakamura first demonstrated the nitride laser in 1996[1],the domain of semiconductor laser technology has undergone a period of remarkable growth[2,3].Al In Ga N-based diode lasers(LDs)have proven their exceptional capabilities across a spectrum of pivotal applications,including high-density data storage,laser displays,laser lighting,and quantum technology[4].

Characteristic analysis of 1.06μm long-cavity diode lasers based on asymmetric waveguide structures

In long-cavity edge-emitting diode lasers,longitudinal spatial hole burning(LSHB),two-photon ab⁃sorption(TPA)and free carrier absorption(FCA)are among the key factors that affect the linear increase in out⁃put power at high injection currents.In this paper,a simplified numerical analysis model is proposed for 1.06μm long-cavity diode lasers by combining TPA and FCA losses with one-dimensional(1D)rate equations.The ef⁃fects of LSHB,TPA and FCA on the output characteristics are systematically analyzed,and it is proposed that ad⁃justing the front facet reflectivity and the position of the quantum well(QW)in the waveguide layer can improve the front facet output power.

High-Power Distributed Feedback Laser Diodes Emitting at 820nm

By etching a second-order grating directly into the Al-free optical waveguide region of a ridgewaveguide（RW） AlGaInAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback（DFB） laser diode,a front facet output power of 30mW is obtained at about 820nm with a single longitudinal mode. The Al-free grating surface permits the re-growth of a high-quality cladding layer that yields excellent device performance. The threshold current of these laser diodes is 57mA,and the slope efficiency is about 0.32mW/mA.

Efficient and high-power laser-diode single-end-pumped Nd：YVO4 continuous wave laser at 1342nm

A compact, efficient and high-power laser diode （LD） single-end-pumped Nd：YVO4 laser with continuous-wave emission at 1342 nm is reported. With a single crystal single-end-pumped by fibre-coupled LD array, an output power of 7.36W is obtained from the laser cavity of concave-convex shape, corresponding to an optical-to-optical efficiency of 32.8%. The laser is operated in TEM00 mode with small rms amplitude noise of 0.3%. The influences of the Nd concentration, transmissivity of the output mirror and the cavity length on the output power have been studied experimentally.

High-Power Continuous-Wave and Acousto-Optical Q-Switched Ho:(Sc_(0.5)Y_(0.5))_2SiO_5 Laser Pumped by Laser Diode

We experimentally investigate the continuous-wave(cw)and acousto-optical(AO)Q-switched performance of a diode-pumped Ho:(Sc_(0.5)Y_(0.5))_2SiO_5(Ho:SYSO)laser.A fiber-coupled laser diode at 1.91m is employed as the pump source.The cw Ho:SYSO laser produces 13.0 W output power at 2097.9 nm and 56.0%slope efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power.In the AO Q-switched regime,at a pulse repetition frequency of 5 kHz,the Ho:SYSO laser yields 2.1 mJ pulse energy and 21 ns pulse width,resulting in a calculated peak power of 100 k W.In addition,at the maximum output level,the beam quality factor of the Q-switched Ho:SYSO laser is measured to be about 1.6.

Comparison of two kinds of active layers for high-power narrow-stripe distributed feedback laser diodes

Usually GaAs/AlGaAs is utilized as an active layer material in laser diodes operating in the spectral range of 800- 850 nm. In this work, in addition to a traditional unstrained GaAs/AlGaAs distributed feedback （DFB） laser diode, a compressively strained InGaAlAs/AlGaAs DFB laser diode is numerically investigated in characteristic. The simulation results show that the compressively strained DFB laser diode has a lower transparency carrier density, higher gain, lower Auger recombination rate, and higher stimulated recombination rate, which lead to better a device performance, than the traditional unstrained GaAs/AlGaAs DFB laser diode.

High-power and high optical conversion efficiency diode-end-pumped laser with multi-segmented Nd：YAG/Nd：YVO-4

A novel flat-flat resonator consisting of two crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4） is established for power scaling in a diode-end-pumped solid-state laser. We systematically compare laser characteristics between multi-segmented（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4） and conventional composite（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YAG） crystals to demonstrate the feasibility of spectral line matching for output power scale-up in end-pumped lasers. A maximum continuous-wave output power of 79.2 W is reported at 1064 nm, with Mx2= 4.82, My2= 5.48, and a pumping power of 136 W in the multi-segmented crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4）. Compared to conventional composite crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YAG）, the optical-optical conversion efficiency of multi-segmented crystals（Nd：YAG ＋ Nd：YVO4） from 808 nm to 1064 nm is enhanced from 30% to 58.8%,while the laser output sensitivity as affected by the diode-laser temperature is reduced from 55% to 9%.

An injection-locking diode laser at 671 nm with a wide tuning range up to 6 GHz

We present a compact injection-locking diode laser module to generate 671 nm laser light with a high output power up to 150 m W.The module adopts a master-slave injection-locking scheme,and the injection-locking state is monitored using the transmission spectrum from a Fabry-Perot interferometer.Beat frequency spectrum measurement shows that the injection-locked slave laser has no other frequency components within the 150-MHz detection bandwidth.It is found that without additional electronic feedback,the slave laser can follow the master laser over a wide range of 6 GHz.All the elements of the module are commercially available,which favors fast construction of a complete 671-nm laser system for the preparation of cold^(6)Li atoms with only one research-grade diode laser as the seeding source.

Theoretical Modeling of Luminous Efficacy for High-Power White Light-Emitting Diodes

The photometric characteristics of high-power white light-emitting diode （LED） devices are investigated. A theoretical model for the luminous efficacy o[ high-power white LED devices and LED systems is proposed. With the proposed theoretical model, the mechanism of the luminous efficacy decrease is explained. Meanwhile, the model can be used to estimate the luminous efficacy oF LEDs under general operation conditions, such as different operation temperatures and injection currents. The wide validity of the luminous efficacy model is experimentally verified through the measurements of different types of LEDs. The experimental results demonstrate a high estimation accuracy. The proposed models not only can be applied to estimate the LED photometric performance, but also is helpful for reliability research of LEDs.

Fiber Coupling of Laser Diode Bar to M ultimode Fiber Array

A piece of multimode optical fiber with a low num er ical aperture (NA) is used as an inexpensive microlens to collimate the output r adiation of a laser diode bar in the high numerical aperture (NA) direction.The emissions of the laser diode bar are coupled into multimode fiber array.The radi ation from individual ones of emitter regions is optically coupled into individu al ones of fiber array.Total coupling efficiency and fiber output power are 75% and 15W,respectively.

Quantitative Moisture Measurement with a Cavity Ring-down Spectrometer using Telecom Diode Lasers

Moisture measurement is of great needs in semiconductor industry, combustion diagnosis, meteorology, and atmospheric studies. We present an optical hygrometer based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy （CRDS）. By using different absorption lines of H20 in the 1.56 and 1.36 gm regions, we are able to determine the relative concentration （mole fraction） of water vapor from a few percent down to the 10-12 level. The quantitative accuracy is examined by comparing the CRDS hygrometer with a commercial chilled-mirror dew-point meter. The high sensitivity of the CRDS instrument allows a water detection limit of 8 pptv.

Analysis of high-power disk laser welding stability based on classification of plume and spatter characteristics

Classification of plume and spatter images was studied to evaluate the welding stability. A high-speed camera was used to capture the instantaneous images of plume and spatters during high power disk laser welding. Characteristic parameters such as the area and number of spatters, the average grayscale of a spatter image, the entropy of a spatter grayscale image, the coordinate ratio of the plume centroid and the welding point, the polar coordinates of the plume centroid were defined and extracted. Karhunen-Loeve transform method was used to change the seven characteristics into three primary characteristics to reduce the dimensions. Also, K-nearest neighbor method was used to classify the plume and spatter images into two categories such as good and poor welding quality. The results show that plume and spatter have a close relationship with the welding stability, and two categories could be recognized effectively using K-nearest neighbor method based on Karhunen-Loeve transform.

High Power 808nm AlGaAs/GaAs Quantum Well Laser Diodes with Broad Waveguide

The 808nm laser diodes with a broad waveguide are designed and fabricated.The thickness of the Al_ 0.35 - Ga_ 0.65 As waveguide is increased to 0.9μm.In order to suppress the super modes,the thickness of the Al_ 0.55 Ga_ 0.45 As cladding layers is reduced to only 0.7μm while keeping the transverse radiation losses of the fundamental mode below 0.2cm -1 .The structures are grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition.The devices show excellent performances.The maximum output power of 10.2W in the 100μm broad-area laser diodes is obtained.

1.3μm InGaAs/InAs/GaAs Self-Assembled Quantum Dot Laser Diode Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

The growth of multi-layer InGaAs/InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots （QDs） by molecular beam epitaxy （MBE） is investigated,and a QD laser diode lasing at 1.33μm in continuous operation mode at room temperature is reported. The full width at half maximum of the band edge emitting peaks of the photoluminescence （PL） spectra at room temperature is less than 35meV for most of the multi-layer QD samples,revealing good,reproducible MBE growth conditions. Moreover,atomic force microscopy images show that the QD surface density can be controlled in the range from 1×10^10 to 7 ×10^10 cm^-2 . The best PL properties are obtained at a QD surface density of about 4×10^10cm^-2. Edge emitting lasers containing 3 and 5 stacked QD layers as the active layer lasing at room temperature in continuous wave operation mode are reported.

Diode Pumped Monolithic Unidirectional Nonplanar Single-Frequency Ring Laser

Diode pumped monolithic nonplanar ring laser has been developed, yielding single frequency laser and has the advantages of compactness, reliability and high efficiency. Its principles are given in detail and a monolithic nonplanar ring laser is designed. As a result, a laser of hundreds milliwatts cw single frequency output was built up, placed in a magnetic field and pumped by LD. The optical conversion efficiency was more than 15% and the slope efficiency more than 30%. The laser beam had a good quality, with M 2 about 1 2.

Material Growth and Device Fabrication of GaAs Based 1.3μm GaInNAs Quantum Well Laser Diodes

Material growth and device fabrication of the first 1.3μm quantum well （QW） edge emitting laser diodes in China are reported. Through the optimization of the molecular beam epitaxy （MBE） growth conditions and the tuning of the indium and nitrogen composition of the GalnNAs QWs, the emission wavelengths of the QWs can be tuned to 1.3μm. Ridge geometry waveguide laser diodes are fabricated. The lasing wavelength is 1.3μm under continuous current injection at room temperature with threshold current of 1kA/cm^2 for the laser diode structures with the cleaved facet mirrors. The output light power over 30mW is obtained.

Material Growth and Device Fabrication of GaN-Based Blue-Violet Laser Diodes

Studies on first GaN-based blue-violet laser diodes(LDs) in China mainland are reported.High quality GaN materials as well as GaN-based quantum wells laser structures are grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition method.The X-ray double-crystal diffraction rocking curve measurements show the full-width half maximum of 180″ and 185″ for (0002) symmetric reflection and (10 12) skew reflection,respectively.A room temperature mobility of 850cm2/(V·s) is obtained for a 3μm thick GaN film.Gain guided and ridge geometry waveguide laser diodes are fabricated with cleaved facet mirrors at room temperature under pulse current injection.The lasing wavelength is 405 9nm.A threshold current density of 5kA/cm2 and an output light power over 100mW are obtained for ridge geometry waveguide laser diodes.

Monolithically Integrated Laser Diode and Electroabsorption Modulator with Dual-Waveguide Spot-Size Converter Output

A 1.60μm laser diode and electroabsorption modulator monolithically integrated with a novel dual-waveguide spot-size converter output for low-loss coupling to a cleaved single-mode optical fiber are demonstrated.The devices emit in a single transverse and quasi single longitudinal mode with an SMSR of 25.6dB.These devices exhibit a 3dB modulation bandwidth of 15.0GHz,and modulator DC extinction ratios of 16.2dB.The output beam divergence angles of the spot-size converter in the horizontal and vertical directions are as small as 7.3°×18.0°,respectively,resulting in a 3.0dB coupling loss with a cleaved single-mode optical fiber.

0.6μm CMOS Laser Diode Driver for Optical Access Networks

Using native CMOS technology,EDA tool,and adopting full-custom design methodology,a laser diode driver for the use of STM-1 and STM-4 optical access network,is realized by CSMC-HJ 0.6μm CMOS technology to modulate laser diodes at 155Mb/s (STM-1),622Mb/s (STM-4) with adjustable modulation current from 0 to 50mA for an equivalent 50Ω load.The maximum modulation voltage is over 2.5V pp corresponding to a 3V DC bias for output stage.The time range of rise and fall from 360ps to 471ps is measured from the output voltage pulse.The RMS jitter is no more than 30ps for four bit rates.The power consumption is less than 410mW under a power supply voltage of 5V.According to the experimental results,the laser diode driver achieves the same level as their counterparts worldwide.