Abstract

The first insights into the operation of diode laser arrays were obtained through coupled-mode theory calculations, which assume weak coupling between neighboring channels that operate almost independently of one another. These calculations produced (for n-coupled waveguides) a set of n eigenmodes designated in the literature as "supermodes",¹ which have since dominated the thinking concerning array operation. In particular, gain-guided arrays have been described using coupled-mode theory with complex coupling coefficients,² a picture reinforced largely by the fact that such arrays generally exhibit a two-lobed far-field emission pattern which is suggestive of the highest-order supermode of an index-guided array.

© 1986 Optical Society of America