Three-fold effective brightness increase of laser diode bar emission by assessment and correction of diode array curvature

An optical arrangement is used to characterize diode bar curvature which is known to limit the effective brightness achievable with such devices. By i ntroducing an inclined, cylindrical collimating lens in front of the diode bar, the curvature of the diode's beam can be reduced by more than 60%. The correct inclination angle for this method is derived. Using a beam shaper together with this correction mechanism we achieve a homogeneous beam profi le with low M-2 values in orthogonal directions and an effective brightness increase of more than 200%. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese rved.