High-power surface-emitting semiconductor injection laser with etched internal 45 degree and 90 degree micromirrors
US5253263A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 12, 1992 |
| Grant date | Oct 12, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 12, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/2027
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A surface-emitting semiconductor injection laser for use in fabricating high-power two-dimensional monolithic laser arrays. The surface-emitting semiconductor laser includes a substrate and an active layer and a pair of cladding layers formed on the substrate. A folded resonator cavity is formed by highly-reflective 45.degree. and 90.degree. micromirrors that are etched at either end of the active layer and by a partially-reflective reflector that is positioned between the 45.degree. micromirror and the substrate for outcoupling the laser light from the resonator cavity. The semiconductor laser is mounted junction down on a heat sink to position the active layer close to the heat sink for good heat dissipation at high power levels. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is optically opaque and an opening is etched in the substrate for outcoupling the laser light. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the substrate is optically transparent and a microlens is formed on the substrate to collimate the laser light.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.