Many applications exist for high performance lasers in the short-wave, mid-infrared spectral regime between 1.9 and
2.5μm - from long-range communications systems through to remote atmospheric gas sensing and pollution monitoring.
However, a simple, efficient laser source offering the desired performance characteristics and flexibility has not been
available. In the last few years considerable progress has been made in the development of optically-pumped
(AlGaIn)(AsSb) quantum well semiconductor disk lasers emitting in the 2.Xμm mid-infrared spectral region -
continuous-wave and pulsed-pumped output power levels now exceed 6W and 16W respectively. Furthermore, singlefrequency
operation with linewidths <4MHz and broad tunability of up to 170nm have also been demonstrated, all at
near-diffraction-limited beam quality. Such performance metrics are only possible through the very best materials
growth, a sound understanding of the design principles of these highly multi-layered devices and, importantly, the
application of effective thermal management.
We report on recent advances in the performance of GaSb-based optically pumped semiconductor disk lasers
(OPSDLs), emitting in the 2.0 - 2.3 μm wavelength range. Both barrier pumped OPSDL (using 980 nm laser
diodes as pump source) and in-well pumped OPSDL (using 1.96 μm pump radiation) have been fabricated
and characterized. Using alternative SiC or diamond intracavity heatspreader, multiple-watt CW-output
powers have been achieved (e.g. >3W at 2.3 μm and >5W at 2.0 μm), with power efficiencies in the range of
18 % - 25 %. For an optimised resonator setup, the beam profile is close to the diffraction limit with M2
values around 1.2; and even for the highest power levels, M2 is in the range of 2-5.
High thermal conductivity intra-cavity crystalline heatspreaders are used to control the pump-induced temperature increase limiting the power scaling of vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs). Pump-power-limited output of greater than 0.4 W was achieved from a GaAs-based VECSEL at room temperature with the use of a silicon carbide heatspreader bonded to the surface of the gain element and 0.5 W by water-cooling the system to 7.5°C.
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