Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc.

William Streifer, Deceased

David F Welch

Donald R Scifres

John G Endriz

An integrated master oscillator/power amplifier semiconduction device having a laser diode oscillator, a broad area light amplifier and a coupling grating disposed to deflect light at an angle from the laser oscillator to the light amplifier. The amplifier may terminate as an output facet or use a grating surface emitter to couple amplified light out of the device. The orientation angle and grating period of the coupling grating are chosen to minimize feedback from the amplifier into the laser. This is achieved either by deflecting the light by other than a 90.degree. angle or by orienting the grating at other than 45.degree. with respect to laser even though light is deflected by 90.degree. so that any return light effectively 'sees' a different grating. The laser can be a DFB or DBR laser and can be wavelength tunable.

Broad beam laser diode with integrated amplifier

An optical amplifier having one or more amplifier regions with a noncollinear light path provided by curved or folded waveguides therein between input, output and reflective surfaces provided, for example, by a low reflectivity front facet and a high reflectivity rear facet. The amplifier regions are electrically pumped via conductive contacts which may be individually addressable for each amplifier region to provide phase control of the array of emitted light. Light is accepted through the front facet by a first amplifier region, is reflected from the rear facet and is emitted through the front facet. If there are multiple amplifier regions, a portion of the light is reflected by the front facet into an adjacent amplifier region. The light path is incident on the front and rear facets at an angle other than normal thereto and preferably at most 10.degree. from normal. The light source may be a laser diode which can be monolithically integrated on the same substrate as the amplifier to form a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) device. The laser can be wavelength tunable. The MOPA can also have a steerable output beam.

Optical amplifier with folded light path and laser-amplifier combination

Semiconductor heterostructure lasers having at least one lattice mismatched strain layer in the cladding proximate to the active region. Indium or phosphorus may be added in high concentration to form the strain layers. The strain layers may be spaced somewhat apart from the active region or may be adjacent to the active region. In either case, the strain layers decrease transparency current and increase differential gain.

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Palo-Alto, CA, United States of America

William Streifer, Deceased