A thermal analysis has been completed on an injection laser stack based on the electrical power dissipation within the laser stack material during operation. The thermal gradient existing in the laser stack during operation can cause large wavelength variations among individual lasers of the stack if certain fabrication procedures are not followed. For a given electrical power dissipation, a "monochromatic" injection laser stack can be designed (i.e., the spectral peaks of all lasers within the stack being at the same wavelength). A prescription for laser diode preselection prior to fabrication is given. The dominant source of temperature variations within the stack is electrical resistance non-uniformities of solder connections, causing non-uniform heating of the laser stack during a current pulse. Results of an experiment for measuring the temperature distribution of the injection laser stack after a single pulse are described which demonstrate electrical resistance non-uniformities within the stack. Finally, the minimum receiver filter spectral bandwidth corresponding to this thermally compensated injection laser stack is calculated.

Date Published: 2 August 1982
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 0317, Integrated Optics and Millimeter and Microwave Integrated Circuits, (2 August 1982);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0317:
Integrated Optics and Millimeter and Microwave Integrated Circuits
Bob D. Guenther; William Pittman, Editor(s)