Dual beam double cavity heterostructure laser with branching output waveguides
US4159452A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 13, 1978 |
| Grant date | Jun 26, 1979 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 13, 1998 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/4043
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A dual beam laser incorporates a tapered layer within the optical cavity of a GaAs-AlGaAs double heterostructure laser. Dual output waveguides are therefore provided at one of the mirrors. By suitable variations of layer thickness and/or composition, the device operates either as a tapered power divider (TPD), branching the incident power of a single mode into the two output arms of the device, or as a tapered mode splitter (TMS), diverting different transverse modes into different arms. Because the different modes of the TMS have different thresholds, the laser can be pulsed with current pulses of different amplitude to control at which of the waveguides an output appears. The TPD, on the other hand, has coupled cavities which tend to suppress all but one dominant longitudinal mode. Also described is an integrated optical circuit embodiment of the TPD in which the resonator is formed by etched mirrors.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.