Control of optical mode distribution through etched microstructures for improved broad area laser performance
P. Crump1, P. Leisher2, T. Matson2, V. Anderson2, D. Schulte2, J. Bell2, J. Farmer2, M. DeVito2, R. Martinsen2, Y.K. Kim3, K.D. Choquette3, G. Erbert1, and G. Tränkle1
Published in:
Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 92, no. 131113 (2008).
Abstract:
Etching microstructures into broad area diode lasers is found to lead to more uniform near field and increased power conversion efficiency, arising from increased slope. Self-consistent device simulation indicates that this improvement is due to an increase in the effective internal injection efficiency above threshold — the nonuniform near field leads to regions of inefficient clamping of the carrier density in the laser stripe. Measurements of spontaneous emission through the substrate confirm the predicted carrier profile. Both experiment and theory show that improved overlap between carrier and power distributions correlates with improved slope.
1 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Straße 4, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
2 nLight Corp., 5408 NE 88th St., Bldg. E, Vancouver, Washington 98665, USA
3 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 N. Wright Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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