1.5-MU-M TAPERED-GAIN-REGION LASERS WITH HIGH-CW OUTPUT POWERS

High-power diode lasers consisting of a ridge-waveguide section couple d to a tapered region have been fabricated in 1.5-mu m InGaAsP-InP mul tiple-quantum-well material. Self-focusing at high current densities a nd high-intensity input into the taper section has been identified as a fundamental problem in these devices that has to be dealt with. To d ate, continuous-wave output powers of > 1 W with approximate to 80% of the power in the near-diffraction-limited central lobe of the far fie ld have been obtained through a judicious choice of device parameters.