HIGH-POWER ALGAAS-GAAS VISIBLE DIODE-LASERS

A high-power room-temperature AlGaAs graded index separately confined heterostructure (GRINSCH) laser emitting in the visible spectral regim e (congruent-to 715 nm) is reported for the first time. The device is gain-guided and consists of 12 stripes, each 5 mum in width with a cen terline separation of 9 mum. This high-power visible laser has been su ccessfully fabricated using a GaAlAs active layer. The epitaxial layer was grown with significantly lower levels of oxygen compared to those grown using standard metalorganic sources. Threshold currents of 310 mA at 10-degrees-C were routinely measured on uncoated devices. The un coated device had a catastrophic optical damage limit of 540 mW and ha s a slope efficiency as high as 0.48. No degradation in device perform ance was observed during a 50-hour 150-mW burn-in.