5 W CONTINUOUS-WAVE POWER, 0.81-MU-M-EMITTING, AL-FREE ACTIVE-REGION DIODE-LASERS

High power, 0.81-mu m-emitting, semiconductor diode lasers are used as pump sources for Nd:YAG solid-state lasers. Devices (1-mm-long) consi sting of /In-0.5(Ga0.9Al0.1)(0.5)P/In-0.5(Ga0.5Al0.5)(0.5)P laser stru cture provide a threshold-current density, J(th), of 290 A/cm(2) and a relatively high threshold-current characteristic temperature, T-0 (14 0 K). Uncoated diode lasers (1.2-mm-long) have a maximum continuous wa ve output power of 5 W (both facets) at 20 degrees C. The internal pow er density at catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD), (P) over bar( COMD), is determined to be 9.1 MW/cm(2); that is, 1.8 times that for G aAs-active layer, Al-free, uncoated devices. Coated, InGaAsP-active de vices are expected to have (P) over bar(COMD)=18 MW/cm(2), more than t wice the (P) over bar(COMD) of AlCaAs-active, 0.81-mu m-emitting devic es with the same emitting aperture. Therefore, 0.81-mu m-emitting, InG aAsP-active diode lasers should operate reliably at powers at least tw ice those of AlGaAs-based devices with the same contact-stripe geometr y. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.