Tilted cavity concept for the high-power wavelength stabilized diode lasers

We discuss wavelength stabilized all-epitaxial Tilted Cavity Lasers (TCLs). Optical cavity of a TCL favors propagation of only one tilted optical mode ensuring wavelength-selective operation. The possibility of full control of the thermal shift of the lasing wavelength d λ/dT in TCL including positive, zero or negative shift, is proved theoretically. Broad-area (100 μm) 970-nm-range devices have been fabricated showing a high temperature stability of the lasing wavelength (0.13 nm/K), a high power operation (> 7 W in pulsed mode and > 1.5 W in continuous wave (cw) mode), and a narrow vertical far-field beam divergence (FWHM ~ 20°). Single transverse mode edge-emitting 4 μm-wide-ridge TCLs demonstrated high-power spatial and spectral single mode cw operation with a longitudinal side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) up to 41.3 dB at 93 mW output power. Such a result is similar to the best values achieved for DFB lasers in the same spectral range, while no etching and overgrowth is used in present case.