HIGH-POWER NEAR-DIFFRACTION-LIMITED TAPERED AMPLIFIERS AT 1064 NM FOROPTICAL INTERSATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

The realization of high-power tapered amplifiers at 1064 nm on a low-m odal gain structure is presented. More than 1.5-W continuous-wave opti cal output power at 3-A injection current is achieved with only 13-mW input optical power and a near-diffraction - limited output beam quali ty. The use of a low-modal gain structure in conjunction with a very l ow AR-coating value avoids the addition of cavity spoilers, The implem entation of such amplifiers in an optical intersatellite communication system is studied. The devices showed excellent resistance to 160-kra d proton irradiation. Preliminary aging tests on broad-area laser diod es demonstrate extrapolated lifetimes as long as 20000 h at 50 degrees C.