Product Code: ICAL05_404

High Power, High Efficiency Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser for Diode Pumping
Authors:
Chuni Ghosh, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
Jean-F Seurin, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
Art D?Asaro, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
Delai Zhou, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
Jongwoo Kim, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
James Wynn, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
John Boardman, Princeton Optronics; Mercerville NJ USA
Presented at ICALEO 2005

Princeton Optronics is a participant of the SHEDS program. In this program, we are developing high power, high efficiency VCSEL devices and array for pumping of solid state lasers. VCSELs have a number of advantages over edge emitters which include manufacturing simplicity, easy scalability in the form of 2D array for higher power, higher reliability because of lower power density in the aperture, and lower temperature sensitivity for wavelength (5x lower). Our approach to high power VCSEL is a novel design and heat sinking of the active side of the device by mounting it face down on diamond substrate. In the SHEDS program we have been able to improve the efficiency significantly and improved the array power to 80W from a 5x5 mm array. We plan to develop 500W output from a 10x10mm area array in the future. The temperature and wavelength uniformity achieved over the array is impressive. We have achieved a temperature uniformity of +/- 5 deg C and a wavelength uniformity of +/-0.5nm over the 80W array. We have achieved an impressive yield of 80% for the 80W array (with all devices working). With a partial n-mirror on the VCSEL and using a volume Bragg grating (VBG) in an externally cavity configuration, we have achieved extremely narrow linewidth of the laser.