Semiconductor laser devices with tapered gain regions have recently generated much interest because they promise high output power with near-diffraction-limited spatial beam quality and good electrical to optical conversion efficiency. We report recent progress on two specific applications: a ring laser and a high- power erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). The ring laser operates unidirectionally in a single longitudinal mode with an output power of 170 mW and without a Faraday isolator. The high- power EDFA has an output power of 520 mW at 1.55 micrometers , the highest power reported to dates for an erbium-doped fiber amplifier using all semiconductor pump lasers. The common theme for both of these applications is the development of optical systems that produce high power in near-diffraction-limited collimated beams and efficient coupling into single mode optical fiber. We present an experimental procedure for quantitatively predicting the optical fiber power coupling efficiency. We have measured 64% power coupling efficiency measure fiber fact to power in the single-mode fiber, or 51% laser facet to power in the fiber, in good agreement with the predictions.

Date Published: 1 June 1994
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 2148, Laser Diode Technology and Applications VI, (1 June 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.176603

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2148:
Laser Diode Technology and Applications VI
Pei Chuang Chen; Lawrence A. Johnson; Henryk Temkin, Editor(s)