High-power laser arrays with 100% fill factor emission facet - art. no. 69091B 39

Novel types of laser diode array with a 100% filling factor at the emission facet are reported. The arrays utilize both parallel and tapered cavity emitters that are connected via a common Laterally Unconfined Non-Absorbing Mirror (LUNAM) defined with quantum-well intermixing technology at 808 nm wavelength. Two LUNAM array types are considered: incoherent (weakly coupled) and coherent (diffraction coupled). Incoherent LUNAM arrays benefit from a reduced power density at the facet, improving reliability, and a near-uniform intensity distribution across the array aperture. Stacked laser diode arrays built with LUNAM bars deliver 950 W power under QCW operation with <5% degradation at 1.9 x 10(8) shots. Novel coherent arrays are realized using a monolithically integrated LUNAM Talbot cavity. The devices produce a single-lobed horizontal far-field pattern over a limited current range with <10% slope efficiency penalty compared to an uncoupled case. The LUNAM arrays are promising candidates for high-power, high-brightness and high-reliability operatio