Volume Bragg Semiconductor Lasers With Near Diffraction Limited Divergence

The problem of high-brightness, narrow line semiconductor lasers sources is important for different kinds of applications. The proposed solution of the problem is the use of an external cavity with volume Bragg grating for effective angular and spectral selection. High-efficient volume Bragg gratings provide complete selection directly in space of wave vectors and serve as a diaphragm in angular space. The condition of effective selection is the provision of a substantial difference in losses for a selected mode by matching angular selectivity of a Bragg grating with divergence of the selected mode. It was proposed off-axis construction of an external cavity with a transmitting volume Bragg grating as an angular selective element and a reflecting volume Bragg grating as a spectral selective feedback. In such external cavity broad area laser diodes have shown stable near-diffraction limited generation in the wide range of pumping current. For LD with 0.5% AR-coated mirror and 150 μm stripe it was achieved 1.7 W output power with divergence of 0.62° at current exceeding six thresholds. Total LD slope efficiency in the considered external cavity is less then slope efficiency of free running diodes by 3-5% only. Spectral width of such locked LD emission was narrowed down to 250 pm in the whole range of pumping current