High-power injection laser diode structure

Patent · Tue Mar 25 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5881622

Chen, B U

A semiconductor device is described consisting of: a semiconductor substrate; semiconductor junction laser diodes having laser cavities formed in a spaced relationship on the substrate; an optical star coupler having a single output and a plurality of inputs coupled to receive the respective outputs of the laser diodes, the star coupler including input waveguides that converge in pairs in a non-parallel fashion at coupling regions, intermediate waveguides extending from coupling regions, and at least one additional coupling region to combine the intermediate waveguides into a single output waveguide. The optical star coupler serves both to combine the outputs of the laser diodes and to couple the laser cavities together for improved coherence and divergence properties, providing a single output with a near-circular cross section and a practically planar wavefront. The laser cavities are mirrored at one end only and the star coupler is mirrored at its output end to provide an integrated laser chamber including the laser cavities and the star coupler, and the path lengths measured from the mirrored end of each laser cavity to the mirrored end of the star coupler output, are approximately the same.

• Assignee: TRW, Inc., Relondo Beach, CA
• Patent Number(s): US 4578791
• OSTI ID: 5881622
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420300* -- Engineering-- Lasers-- (-1989)
DESIGN
JUNCTIONS
LASER CAVITIES
LASERS
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES
SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS
SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS
SPACE DEPENDENCE
SUBSTRATES
WAVEGUIDES