Modification of internal temperature distribution in broad area semiconductor lasers and the effect on near- and far-field distributions

The results from two novel experimental techniques to investigate the influ ence of thermal effects on large aperture, high power semiconductor lasers are presented. The first technique is achieved via fabricated micro-stripe heating elements, integrated onto the laser diode using standard photolitho graphic technology. The second involves focusing an Ar+ beam onto the injec tion stripe of a standard broad-area laser to investigate the effect of loc alised heating. Results from both experiments show that the internal temper ature distribution has a pronounced influence on the near- and far-fields o f large aperture semiconductor lasers. By tailoring this distribution, sign ificant improvements to near- and far-fields can be obtained.