A master oscillator power amplifier system emitting alternatingly at two neighbored wavelengths around 965 nm is presented. As master oscillator (MO) a Y-branch DFB-laser is used. The two branches, which can be individually controlled, deliver the two wavelengths needed for a differential absorption measurement of water vapor. Adjusting the current through the DFB sections, the wavelength can be adjusted with respect to the targeted either “on” or “off” resonance, respectively wavelength λon or wavelength λoff. The emission of this laser is amplified in a tapered amplifier (TA). The ridge waveguide section of the TA acts as optical gate to generate short pulses with duration of 8 ns at a repetition rate of 25 kHz, the flared section is used for further amplification to reach peak powers up to 16 W suitable for micro-LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The necessary pulse current supply user a GaN-transistor based driver electronics placed close to the power amplifier (PA). The spectral properties of the emission of the MO are preserved by the PA. A spectral line width smaller than 10 pm and a side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of 37 dB are measured. These values meet the demands for water vapor absorption measurements under atmospheric conditions.
Micro-DIAL (differential absorption LIDAR) systems require light sources with peak powers in the range of several 10 W together with a spectral line width smaller than the width of absorption lines under study. For water vapor at atmospheric pressure this width should be smaller than 10 pm at 975 nm. In this paper, an all semiconductor master oscillator power amplifier system at an emission wavelength of 975 nm will be presented. This spectral range was selected with respect to a targeted absorption path length of 5000 m and H2O line strengths. A distributed feedback (DFB) ridge waveguide diode laser operated in continuous wave is used as master oscillator whereas a tapered amplifier consisting of a RW section and a flared section is implemented as power amplifier. The RW section acts as optical gate. The current pulses injected into the RW part have a length of 8 ns and the tapered part is driven with 15 ns long pulses. The delay between the pulses is adjusted for optimal pulse shape. The repetition rate is in both cases 25 kHz. A maximal pulse output power of about 16 W limited by the available current supply is achieved. The spectral line width of the system determined by the properties of the DFB laser is smaller than 10 pm. The tuning range amounts 0.9 nm and a SMSR of 40 dB is observed. From the dependence of the peak power on the power injected into the tapered amplifier, the saturation power is determined to 5.3 mW.
A master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system for the generation of ns-pulses with high peak power, narrow spectral line width, and stabilized emission wavelength will be presented. The master oscillator is a distributed feedback (DFB) ridge waveguide (RW) laser. The tapered amplifier consists of one RW section and one flared gain-guided section. The DFB laser is operated in continuous wave mode and emits at 973.5 nm with a spectral line width below 10 pm. The RW section of the amplifier acts as an optical gate. The tapered section amplifies the generated optical pulse. An optical peak power of 15.5 W for a pulse width of 8 ns is obtained. The emission wavelength remains constant at all output power levels of the MOPA system for a fixed current into the DFB laser. The spectral power density of the ASE is 37 dB smaller than the lasing spectral power density. The spectral line width is smaller than 10 pm, limited by the resolution of the optical spectrum analyzer.
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