High-power red laser diode for recordable DVDs

A kink mechanism of a red (658nm) laser diode (LD) has been investigated in order to achieve a higher power operation of over 200mW. The experimental results indicate that a main origin of the kink generation is due to the deviation of the refractive index step caused by the local heat generation at the stripe region. To reduce the heat generation at the stripe region, an extension of a cavity length of the LD is applied. The LD with the cavity length of 1500μm realizes a kink-free 200mW operation even at 80°C. Also, this LD shows a reliable pulsed operation of 230mW at 75°C and 250mW at 70°C for over 1700 hours. This is the highest power operation among narrow stripe 658nm LDs.