Brightness is often listed among the most important laser characteristic for practical applications. It is a function of both output optical power and mode quality. Multi-watt continuous wave (CW) operation has been demonstrated for broad-area Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) emitting at ~4.6µm. Transition of the broad-area configuration to shorter wavelengths is however non-trivial as laser thermal behavior rapidly deteriorates with reduction in emission wavelength below 4.6µm. In this work we discuss the main design principles of high brightness, broad area QCLs emitting at ~4.0µm. Building off a power scaling approach to increasing broad area QCL CW power, a figure of merit is utilized to predict dominant lasing transverse modes for QCLs. A discussion follows on the role of laser core dimensions on mode selection within a waveguide, including design guidelines for maintaining single transverse mode behavior while altering broad area QCL design for increased power.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.