High-power laser diodes emitting in the violet - UV region are needed for many applications related to data storage, full color laser projectors, pollution screening etc. This type of device is difficult to fabricate by using the presently available technology of epitaxial growth which employs the lateral overgrowth scheme to reduce the dislocation density in the active layer of the device. This paper presents a new generation of wide stripe laser diodes, which structures were coherently grown on bulk, nearly defect free GaN substrates. Thanks to a low and homogeneously distributed dislocation density (3×10⁵cm^-3), these devices are able to emit a very large optical power in excess of 2.5 W with a slope efficiency per facet of around 0.3 W/A and threshold current densities of 5-10 kA/cm². The use of wide 15 μm stripe lowers the optical power density on the mirrors, and helps avoiding their optical damage. We believe that these devices clearly show the potential of homoepitaxy for high-power lasers applications.

Date Published: 11 May 2004
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 5365, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers III, (11 May 2004); doi: 10.1117/12.523580

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5365:
Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers III
Claire F. Gmachl; David P. Bour, Editor(s)