High-power temperature-stable GaInNAs distributed Bragg reflector laser emitting at 1180  nm

• Published in: Optics letters 2016-02, Vol.41 (4), p.657-660
• Main Authors: Korpijärvi, Ville-Markus, Viheriälä, Jukka, Koskinen, Mervi, Aho, Antti T, Guina, Mircea
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Lasers, Semiconductor; Optical Phenomena; Temperature
• ISSN: 0146-9592; 1539-4794
• DOI: 10.1364/OL.41.000657

We report a single-mode 1180 nm distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser diode with a high output power of 340 mW. For the fabrication, we employed novel nanoimprint lithography that ensures cost-effective, large-area, conformal patterning and does not require regrowth. The output characteristics exhibited outstanding temperature insensitivity with a power drop of only 30% for an increase of the mount temperature from 20°C to 80°C. The high temperature stability was achieved by using GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs), which exhibit improved carrier confinement compared to standard InGaAs/GaAs QWs. The corresponding characteristic temperatures were T =110  K and T =160  K. Moreover, we used a large detuning between the peak wavelength of the material gain at room temperature and the lasing wavelength determined by the DBR. In addition to good temperature characteristics, GaInNAs/GaAs QWs exhibit relatively low lattice strain with direct impact on improving the lifetime of laser diodes at this challenging wavelength range. The single-mode laser emission could be tuned by changing the mount temperature (0.1 nm/°C) or the drive current (0.5 pm/mA). The laser showed no degradation in a room-temperature lifetime test at 900 mA drive current. These compact and efficient 1180 nm laser diodes are instrumental for the development of compact frequency-doubled yellow-orange lasers, which have important applications in medicine and spectroscopy.