Abstract

Spatially coherent high-power operation of diode lasers can be achieved with wide-stripe lasers using unstable resonator geometries.^1,2 We have demonstrated spatially coherent operation in stripes as wide as 170 µm with a regrown lens train (RLT) unstable resonator. The structure and measurements have been discussed previously (Ref. 3). In this paper we present new results on the RLT lasers with better efficiency and lower threshold. We also report on the observation and quantitative measurement of thermal lensing in quasi-cw operation. The measured variation of threshold and efficiency vs magnification will be compared with theory and computer simulation.

© 1993 Optical Society of America