Emmi Kantola

High-efficiency 20 W yellow VECSEL

A high-efficiency optically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser emitting 20 W at a wavelength around 588 nm is demonstrated. The semiconductor gain chip emitted at a fundamental wavelength around 1170-1180 nm and the laser employed a V-shaped cavity. The yellow spectral range was achieved by intra-cavity frequency doubling using a LBO crystal. The laser could be tuned over a bandwidth of ~26 nm while exhibiting watt-level output powers. The maximum conversion efficiency from absorbed pump power to yellow output was 28% for continuous wave operation. The VECSELs output could be modulated to generate optical pulses with duration down to 570 ns by directly modulating the pump laser. The high-power pulse operation is a key feature for astrophysics and medical applications while at the same time enables higher slope efficiency than continuous wave operation owing to decreased heating.

Monolithic GaInNAsSb/GaAs VECSEL Operating at 1550 nm

The first monolithic GaAs-based vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) operating at 1550 nm is reported. The VECSEL operation is based on a gain mirror which was grown in a single growth run by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The gain mirror comprised eight GaInNAsSb/GaAs quantum wells with a photoluminescence peak at 1505 nm and an AlAs/GaAs distributed Bragg reflector ensuring high reflectivity. The VECSEL chip was pumped with an 808-nm diode laser that had a large quantum defect in respect to the lasing wavelength. An output power of 80 mW in continuous wave mode and 210 mW in pulsed pump mode are demonstrated close to room temperature.

615 nm GaInNAs VECSEL with output power above 10 W.

A high-power optically-pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) generating 10.5 W of cw output power at 615 nm is reported. The gain mirror incorporated 10 GaInNAs quantum wells and was designed to have an emission peak in the 1230 nm range. The fundamental emission was frequency doubled to the red spectral range by using an intra-cavity nonlinear LBO crystal. The maximum optical-to-optical conversion efficiency was 17.5%. The VECSEL was also operated in pulsed mode by directly modulating the pump laser to produce light pulses with duration of ~1.5 µs. The maximum peak power for pulsed operation (pump limited) was 13.8 W. This corresponded to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 20.4%.

Pulsed high-power yellow-orange VECSEL

We report on the development of a pulsed high-power frequency doubled vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) with a peak output power of 14 W and emission spectrum near 588 nm. The semiconductor gain chip was grown by molecular beam epitaxy and comprised 10 GaInAs quantum wells. The gain structure was designed to be antiresonant at 1180 nm. The fundamental wavelength was frequency doubled to the yellow–orange spectral range using a 10-mm long critically phase matched lithium triborate nonlinear crystal, situated at the mode waist of the V-shaped laser cavity. The emission spectrum was narrowed down to FWHM of < 0.2 nm by employing a 1.5 mm birefringent filter and a 100-μm-thick etalon inside the cavity. By directly modulating the pump laser of the VECSEL, we were able to produce pulse widths down to 570 ns with average and peak output power of 81 mW and 14 W, respectively. The repetition rate was kept constant at 10 kHz throughout the measurements. The maximum peak power obtained was pump power limited. In comparison, at the same coolant temperature, a maximum of 8.5 W was achieved in continuous wave. The maximum optical-to-optical conversion efficiency (absorbed peak pump power to peak output power) was calculated to be 20–21 %.

Monolithic GaInNAsSb/GaAs VECSEL emitting at 1550 nm

We report the first monolithic GaAs-based vertical external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) operating at 1550 nm. The VECSEL is based on a gain mirror which was grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and comprises 8 GaInNAsSb/GaAs quantum wells and an AlAs/GaAs distributed Bragg reflector. When pumped by an 808 nm diode laser, the laser exhibited an output power of 80 mW for a mount temperature of 16 °C.

8W GaInNAs VECSEL emitting at 615 nm

We report a high-power VECSEL emitting <8W around 615 nm. The gain chip of the laser was grown by plasmaassisted molecular beam epitaxy and it comprised 10 GaInNAs quantum wells. The VECSEL cavity had a V-shaped geometry and a 10-mm-long non-critically phase-matched LBO crystal for second harmonic generation. The cavity incorporated also an etalon and a birefringent filter for controlling the output wavelength. With the aid of the secondharmonic output and the infrared light leaking out from the laser cavity, the single-pass conversion efficiency of the crystal was estimated to have a value of 0.75%.

Single-frequency 1178nm SDL/Yb-PBGF MOPA with an output power of 31 W

We report on the use of a Semiconductor Disk Laser (SDL) as a seed laser for an Ytterbium-Doped Photonic Bandgap Fiber (Yb-PBGF) amplifier in a Master-Oscillator Power-Amplifier (MOPA) configuration. The SDL comprised a GaInAs/GaAs/GaAsP gain chip, a 1-mm-thick etalon for mode selection, and a 3-mm-thick birefringent filter for wavelength tuning. The fiber amplifier consisted of an Yb-doped core surrounded by a structure of periodically arranged germanium rods with a pitch of 10.2 μm, and to maintain the polarization, the fiber comprised two boron rods. The output of the MOPA-configuration was 31 W and the linewidth of the amplifier output was 149±31 kHz.

High-efficiency tunable yellow-orange VECSEL with an output power of 20 W

We report on the development of a high-efficiency frequency doubled vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser with an output power of 20 W and emission spectrum centered at 588 nm. The MBE-grown gain chip incorporated 10 GaInAs quantum wells and emitted in the 1180 nm range. The frequency conversion was achieved using a lithium triborate nonlinear crystal in an intra-cavity configuration. In addition to the nonlinear crystal, the V-shaped cavity also included a birefringent filter and an etalon for linewidth narrowing and wavelength tuning. The maximum optical-to-optical conversion efficiency obtained was ~28 % for 16 W of output power and the VECSEL had a tuning bandwidth of ~26 nm ranging from about 576 to 602 nm. We were also able to generate yellow pulses down to 570 ns duration by directly modulating the VECSEL’s pump laser.

High-efficiency yellow VECSEL with an output power of about 12 W

In this paper we report the development of an intra-cavity frequency doubled high power VECSEL emitting around 589 nm.

High Power 1100–1200 nm Semiconductor Disk Lasers

We review our results concerning the development of Semiconductor Disk Lasers with emission wavelength in the range of 1100-1200 nm. In particular, we highlight our recent demonstrations of SDLs with an output power of more than 20 W for emission around 1180 nm and corresponding frequency doubled power of more than 10 W at around 589 nm. The SDL gain chips utilize either dilute nitride (GaInNAs) or low-temperature GaInAs quantum wells.