Abstract

Most semiconductor diode lasers consist of a small crystal (10⁻³ mm³) of GaAs in which a narrow region is doped and pumped to provide optical gain. Typically, the resonator mirrors are simply the cleaved end surfaces of the crystal, which form a plane parallel Fabry-Perot system, and the great merit of this resonator is its fabricational simiplicity. However, in semiconductor lasers as in other laser systems, high power is most readily achieved by increasing the volume of the lasing medium. Unfortunately, increasing the volume or width of the active region inevitably Increases the liklihood of multimode oscillation or even lasing in independent filaments.

© 1984 Optical Society of America