Diode laser-based dual-wavelength light sources are experimentally compared in individual and common operation. First, a Y-branch distributed Bragg reflector diode laser is presented. It consists of two laser cavities with a single output waveguide. The device provides 180 mW and dual-wavelength laser emission around 785 nm. The measured spectral widths and spectral distance are 20 pm and 0.6 nm, respectively. Resistors implemented next to the gratings allow changing the wavelength spacing within a range of 0.0 nm - 1.7 nm. Lateral far field profiles show a strong modulation and a lateral shift of 1° between both far fields indicates beam steering. Second, a multimode interference coupler-based master oscillator power amplifier is presented. It provides 500 mW dual-wavelength laser emission. Within the available power range, spectral widths of 20 pm and nearly constant peak emission wavelengths are measured. In comparison to quasicontinuous wavelength tuning obtained for the Y-branch laser, the MMI MOPA enables non-continuous wavelength tuning. As an example, selected spectral distances of 0.0 nm, 0.5 nm, 1.0 nm, 1.5 nm, and 2.0 nm are demonstrated in individual operation. Beam steering is successfully eliminated. Near field widths of 5 μm and far field angles of 15° result in beam propagation ratios of M2 = 1.2 at the 1/e2 level in all operation modes. This enables easy beam shaping or efficient single-mode fiber coupling. Both devices are suitable for spectroscopic applications such as Raman spectroscopy and shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy as well as for the generation of THz radiation by photomixing.
Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy (SERDS) is a powerful technique to separate disturbing background signals such as fluorescence and ambient light from Raman signals. Depending on the sample under investigation the requirements for SERDS excitation light sources can vary. In addition to narrow spectral dual-wavelength emission, the nature of the target might demand large inspection areas and herewith high output powers. Dual-wavelength Y-branch distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) diode lasers with output powers exceeding 100 mW have been proven to be suitable light sources for SERDS. Spectral stabilization is provided by deeply etched 10th order DBR gratings, manufactured using e-beam lithography. One way to increase the inspection area is a dual-wavelength Y-branch DBR diode laser array for the excitation of multiple spots and herewith gaining more information about the sample under study. Here, we present a 5 mm wide, ten emitter dual-wavelength Y-branch DBR diode laser array. Electro-optical and spectral characteristics will be discussed with respect to the application SERDS. The individual emitters have a spectral emission width of less than 20 pm. At 1 W optical output power the spectral emission from the ten emitters has a full width at half maximum of 60 pm or less at both wavelengths. The narrow emission proves homogeneously manufactured DBR gratings, which are designed to provide dual-wavelength emission at 784.0 nm and 784.6 nm at 1 W optical output power. Lifetime of 5,000 h was exemplarily demonstrated. The influence of the emitters of the array on each other will be investigated and compared to the single chip Y-branch diode laser properties.
In this contribution, the properties of 4 mm long DBR-tapered lasers with different DBR grating lengths and different ridge waveguide lengths will be investigated. For the different device designs, the influence of the ridge waveguide current on the spectral and spatial parameters will be presented. The vertical layer structure of the devices is based on a GaAsP single quantum well in a large optical cavity. Three different grating lengths, i.e., 500 μm, 750 μm, and 1 mm, were manufactured using e-beam lithography. For the first two gratings, the tapered section has a length of 2.5 mm, for the latter 2.0 mm. All devices have a full tapered angle of 6°. The devices having the longer tapered sections reach output powers up to 7 W with a narrow spectral width. Increasing the ridge waveguide current increases the optical output power up to a saturation level. At saturation level, although the output remains approximately stable, differences in the spectral behavior and the beam quality occur. The dependence of spectral properties and beam parameters on the ridge waveguide current will be discussed. A correlation between spectral properties and lateral beam profile measured at beam waist position can be supposed. The measured emission width amounts to 19 pm, which is limited by the resolution of the used spectrometer. In best cases, at an output power of 5 W the lateral beam propagation ratio is below 3.5 (1/e2) and 8.4 (2nd moments). These lasers are well-suited as pump lasers for Tm:YAG lasers and as excitation light sources in Raman spectroscopic experiments with large excitation areas.
Lasers in the spectral range around 785 nm are requested as pump lasers for 2 μm eye-safe Tm:YAG lasers and as excitation light sources in Raman spectroscopic experiments with large excitation areas. The output power should be in the range of several watts together with wavelength stabilization and good beam quality. Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) tapered diode lasers offer a potential solution. In this contribution 785 nm DBR tapered lasers with a narrow spectral emission width below 1 pm will be presented. The devices are based on GaAsP single quantum wells embedded in a 1 μm thick large optical cavity leading to a vertical far field angle of 29° (FWHM). The 3-inch wafers were grown using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. In a full wafer process 4 mm long DBR tapered lasers were manufactured. Two different layouts were processed. One device type (A) consists of a 1.0 mm long 10th order surface DBR grating acting as rear side mirror, a 1.0 mm long ridge waveguide section, and a 2.0 mm long flared section having a full taper angle of 6°, whereas the other one (B) has a 500 μm long DBR grating, a 1.0 mm long RW section and a 2.5 mm long 6° flared section. Both types of devices reach output powers larger than 5 W at 25°C. The device with the shorter tapered section (A) is limited to this output power, whereas the device with longer taper (B) reach up to 7 W within the studied current range up to 8 A. At 3 W output power the latter device has an emission linewidth below 1 pm. Measured at 1/e2 level at this output power the beam waist width of 8.5 μm and the far field angle of 14.4° lead to a beam propagation ratio M2 of 2.1. More than 71% of the emitted power is within the central lobe of the beam waist.
Some spectroscopic applications require excitation light sources with dual-wavelength laser emission. For example, in absorption spectroscopy one on-resonance and one off-resonance wavelength are needed for concentration measurements. For shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS), two excitation wavelengths are used to distinguish between disturbing light and Raman signals. In both cases an adjustable wavelength spacing allows optimizing the measurements according to the spectral width of the target. In addition, a tuning of the spectral distance also allows generating a tunable sum or difference frequency signal, enabling further applications.
In this paper, diode lasers with customized designs according to the spectral requirements of the applications will be presented. As basis for all devices, Y-branch diode lasers with an integrated grating for wavelength stabilization are realized. The emission of the two branches is combined in an implemented Y-shaped coupler. The bent waveguides are sine shaped S-bends. The spectral tuning is performed via implemented heater elements next to the Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) gratings or via the injection current when using a Distributed Feedback (DFB) grating. Powervoltage current characteristics, spectral and tuning properties will be shown.
The devices emitting at 671 nm and 785 nm are used for SERDS, whereas devices at 965 nm were tested as seed sources for pulsed master oscillator power amplifiers (MOPA) suitable for the detection of water vapor. Devices at 785 nm are also suitable for the generation of THz radiation using difference frequency generation. A widely tunable Y-branch diode laser near 972 nm is used for the sum frequency generation in an up-conversion system.
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