Mode-expanded semiconductor laser with tapered-rib adiabatic-following fiber coupler

Expanded-mode semiconductor lasers are of great interest due to the benefits of reduced far-field divergence and improved coupling efficiency to optical fiber. The authors present a new diode laser using a Tapered-Rib Adiabatic-Following Fiber Coupler (TRAFFiC) to achieve 2D mode expansion without epitaxial regrowth or sharply-defined tips on tapered waveguides. The expanded mode size would allow 0.25 to 1 dB coupling loss to standard telecommunications fiber making smaller-core specialty fibers unnecessary, increasing misalignment tolerance, and eliminating the need for coupling optics.