Fp. Dabkowski et al., TEMPERATURE PROFILE ALONG THE CAVITY AXIS OF HIGH-POWER QUANTUM-WELL LASERS DURING OPERATION, Applied physics letters, 64(1), 1994, pp. 13-15
Measurements of the temperature distribution along the cavity of 0.5 W
AlGaAs quantum well lasers are presented. The spatial distribution of
temperature was determined by measuring the spectral shift of electro
luminescence emitted through a window in the GaAs substrate metallizat
ion. The average temperature of the active layer is 10-15 K higher tha
n the heatsink temperature at 0.5 W output. Facet temperatures can exc
eed the average active layer temperature by over 100 K. Data are also
presented illustrating the temperature profile at different drive curr
ents between threshold and the maximum operating current. A temperatur
e profile of a laser with a damaged front facet is presented, showing
a hot region that is twice the size of the defect.