1.56 µm 1 watt single frequency semiconductor disk laser.

A single frequency wafer-fused semiconductor disk laser at 1.56 µm with 1 watt of output power and a coherence length over 5 km in fiber is demonstrated. The result represents the highest output power reported for a narrow-line semiconductor disk laser operating at this spectral range. The study shows the promising potential of the wafer fusion technique for power scaling of single frequency vertical-cavity lasers emitting in the 1.3-1.6 µm range.

1 W at 785 nm from a frequency-doubled wafer-fused semiconductor disk laser.

We demonstrate an optically pumped semiconductor disk laser operating at 1580 nm with 4.6 W of output power, which represents the highest output power reported from this type of laser. 1 W of output power at 785 nm with nearly diffraction-limited beam has been achieved from this laser through intracavity frequency doubling, which offers an attractive alternative to Ti:sapphire lasers and laser diodes in a number of applications, e.g., in spectroscopy, atomic cooling and biophotonics.

2.5 W orange power by frequency conversion from a dual-gain quantum-dot disk laser.

We report a disk laser using two quantum-dot semiconductor gain elements, resulting in what we believe is the first demonstration of intracavity frequency conversion with these active media. Output power of 6 W has been obtained in dual-gain configuration at a wavelength of 1180 nm, while single-gain lasers produced up to 3 and 4 W individually, limited by thermal rollover in the output characteristics. The gain enhancement achieved with two active elements comprising 39 layers of Stranski-Krastanov InGaAs quantum dots allows for intracavity frequency doubling delivering 2.5 W of orange radiation.

Optically pumped semiconductor quantum dot disk laser operating at 1180 nm.

We demonstrate an optically pumped semiconductor disk laser using 39 layers of Stranski-Krastanov InGaAs quantum dots self-assembled during epitaxial growth on a monolithic GaAs/AlAs distributed Bragg reflector. The gain structure bonded to an intracavity diamond crystal heat spreader allows 1.75 W single-transverse-mode output (M(2)<1.2) with circular beam shape operating at 1180 nm in a disk laser geometry.

1.3-microm optically-pumped semiconductor disk laser by wafer fusion.

We report a wafer-fused high power optically-pumped semiconductor disk laser operating at 1.3 microm. An InP-based active medium was fused with a GaAs/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflector, resulting in an integrated monolithic gain mirror. Over 2.7 W of output power, obtained at temperature of 15 degrees C, represents the best achievement reported to date for this type of lasers. The results reveal an essential advantage of the wafer fusing technique over both monolithically grown AlGaInAs/GaInAsP- and GaInNAs-based structures.

2.6 W optically-pumped semiconductor disk laser operating at 1.57-microm using wafer fusion.

We report a wafer fused high power optically pumped semiconductor disk laser incorporating InP-based active medium fused to a GaAs/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflector. A record value of over 2.6 W of output power in a spectral range around 1.57 microm was demonstrated, revealing the essential advantage of the wafer fusing technique over monolithically-grown all-InP-based structures. The presented approach allows for integration of lattice-mismatched compounds, quantum-well and quantum-dot based media. This would provide convenient means for extending the wavelength range of semiconductor disk lasers.

Passively mode-locked GaInNAs disk laser operating at 1220 nm.

We report an optically-pumped semiconductor disk laser passively mode-locked with a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror. Both the absorber and the gain media were made of dilute nitride compound semiconductor, GaInNAs, which enables operation around 1.2 microm wavelengths. The laser generated 5 ps optical pulses with an average output power up to 275 mW. Our demonstration provides an attractive approach for efficiently generating red-wavelengths through external cavity frequency doubling.

High power frequency doubled GaInNAs semiconductor disk laser emitting at 615 nm.

We report on an optically-pumped intracavity frequency doubled GaInNAs/GaAs -based semiconductor disk laser emitting around 615 nm. The laser operates at fundamental wavelength of 1230 nm and incorporates a BBO crystal for light conversion to the red wavelength. Maximum output power of 172 mW at 615 nm was achieved from a single output. Combined power from two outputs was 320 mW. The wavelength of visible emission could be tuned by 4.5 nm using a thin glass etalon inside the cavity.