Injection Laser Mode Studies.

Abstract : This document is the sixth semiannual report and the final report of a basic study of the modes of injection lasers. The concern is the fundamental relationship between the modal properties of diode lasers, their structure, and the nature of the electrical drive. The semiannual report features three pioneering studies: The development of an equation of state relating the laser power, spectrum, and beam profile to the input current and laser structure; the behavior of the laser on transition of threshold as the current is increased through the immediate vicinity of threshold; and the comparison of the laser spectrum under pulsed drive to excitation with a dc current. It also touches on the behavior of quarternary lasers operating at 1.2 micrometers. The report concludes with a consideration of the outstanding fundamental problem at the present time, the dynamic interaction of the laser which reduces the number of spectral lines in the coherent output of a laser as the current drive is increased.