Dual beam double cavity heterostructure laser with branching output waveguides

Patent · Tue Jun 26 04:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:5921293

Logan, R A; Merz, J L

The dual beam laser incorporates a tapered layer within the optical cavity of a GaAs-AlGaAs double heterostructure laser. Dual output waveguides are therefore provided at one of the mirrors. By suitable variations of layer thickness and/or composition, the device operates either as a tapered power divider (TPD), branching the incident power of a single mode into the two output arms of the device, or as a tapered mode splitter (TMS), diverting different transverse modes into different arms. Because the different modes of the TMS have different thresholds, the laser can be pulsed with current pulses of different amplitude to control at which of the waveguides an output appears. The TPD, on the other hand has coupled cavities which tend to suppress all but one dominant longitudinal mode. Also described is an integrated optical circuit embodiment of the TPD in which the resonator is formed by etched mirrors.

• Assignee: Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc.
• Patent Number(s): US 4159452
• OSTI ID: 5921293
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420300* -- Engineering-- Lasers-- (-1989)
ALUMINIUM ARSENIDES
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
DESIGN
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
LASERS
PNICTIDES
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS