6.1 W CONTINUOUS-WAVE FRONT-FACET POWER FROM AL-FREE ACTIVE-REGION (LAMBDA=805 NM) DIODE-LASERS

Al-free active-region diode lasers grown by low-pressure, metal-organi c chemical vapor deposition and emitting at lambda=805 nm have been op timized for high continuous wave output power. The 1-mm-long devices c onsisting of an InGaAsP/In0.5Ga0.5P/In-0.5(Ga0.5Al0.5)(0.5)P laser str ucture have a threshold-current density, J(th), of 310 A/cm(2) and rel atively high values for the characteristic temperatures of the thresho ld current, T-0 (135 K), and differential quantum efficiency, T-1 (900 K). Lasers with 10%/90% coatings and a 100-mu m-wide stripe provide a maximum cw output power of 6.1 W at a heatsink temperature of 10 degr ees C. The devices fail due to catastrophic optical mirror damage (COM D), where the internal power density, <(P)over bar (COMD)> is 17.4 MW/ cm(2); that is, twice that for conventionally facet-coated, 810 nm emi tting, AlGaAs active-region diode lasers. (C) 1998 American institute of Physics.