Reiner Güther

600 mW optical output power at 488 nm by use of a high-power hybrid laser diode system and a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 bulk crystal

600 mW second-harmonic blue light at 488 nm has been generated by use of a master-oscillator power amplifier diode laser system as a pump source with a maximum optical output power of 4 W in continuous-wave operation. For frequency doubling, a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 bulk crystal was used in a single-pass configuration. A conversion efficiency of 15% and an overall wall-plug efficiency of 4% were achieved.

Properties of ion-implanted high-power angled-grating distributed-feedback lasers

An improvement of the linearity of the light-current characteristics and the beam quality of high-power /spl alpha/-distributed feedback lasers is achieved by an ion implantation of the regions outside the contact stripe. The linear part of the light-current characteristics of 4-mm-long devices emitting at 1060 nm is extended to P=1.8 W output power. The times-diffraction-limit factor M/sup 2/ remains constant, equal to 1.7 over the whole power range. Simulations of the electro-optical behavior reveal that the improvement is achieved by a suppression of optical field components which propagate inside the cavity perpendicular to the facets.

Second-harmonic-generation microsystem light source at 488 nm for Raman spectroscopy

A microsystem excitation light source emitting at 488 nm is presented. A direct single-pass nonlinear frequency conversion using a diode laser emission at 976 nm and a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide crystal for efficient second-harmonic generation is demonstrated. This was realized on a micro-optical bench with a combined thermal management and a footprint of (25 mm x 5 mm). At 217 mW fundamental power a generated power of 56 mW at 488 nm with a conversion efficiency of 26% was achieved. With a power stability below 1%, this wavelength stabilized compact device is well suited for Raman spectroscopy.

Microsystem light source at 488 nm for shifted excitation resonance Raman difference spectroscopy.

A microsystem light source emitting at 488 nm was tested and applied as a light source for shifted excitation resonance Raman difference spectroscopy (SERRDS). A nonlinear frequency conversion using a distributed feedback (DFB) diode laser emission at 976 nm and a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide crystal was realized on a micro-optical bench with a footprint of 25 mm × 5 mm. Joint temperature management via the microbench is used for wavelength tuning. Two emission lines at 487.61 nm and 487.91 nm are used for the SERRDS experiments. The Raman spectra of the test sample polystyrene demonstrate that a laser bandpass filter did not need to be implemented. Resonance Raman spectra of Tartrazine (FD&C Yellow 5, E 102) in distilled water are presented to demonstrate the suitability of this light source for SERRDS in, e.g., food safety control.

Efficient high-power frequency doubling of distributed Bragg reflector tapered laser radiation in a periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate planar waveguide

We report on efficient single-pass, high-power second-harmonic generation in a periodically poled MgO-doped LiNbO3 planar waveguide using a distributed Bragg reflector tapered diode laser as a pump source. A coupling efficiency into the planar waveguide of 73% was realized, and 1.07 W of visible laser light at 532 nm was generated. Corresponding optical and electro-optical conversion efficiencies of 26% and 8.4%, respectively, were achieved. Good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical predictions was observed.

Modeling and measurements of the radiative characteristics of high-power /spl alpha/-DFB lasers

A new above-threshold model of /spl alpha/-DFB lasers is presented. It is based on a generalized beam-propagation method and takes into account spatial hole burning and self-heating effects. Up to moderate output powers, a good agreement between simulated and measured radiative characteristics is obtained. The theoretical model was used to design an optimized laser structure with a 4-mm-long cavity, which yielded a maximum output power of 3 W with a times-diffraction-limit factor of M/sup 2//spl ap/3.

Single-pass UV generation at 222.5 nm based on high-power GaN external cavity diode laser.

We demonstrate a compact system for single-pass frequency doubling of high-power GaN diode laser radiation. The deep UV laser light at 222.5 nm is generated in a β-BaB2O4 (BBO) crystal. A high-power GaN external cavity diode laser (ECDL) system in Littrow configuration with narrowband emission at 445 nm is used as pump source. At a pump power of 680 mW, a maximum UV power of 16 μW in continuous-wave operation at 222.5 nm is achieved. This concept enables a compact diode laser-based system emitting in the deep ultraviolet spectral range.

Rayleigh length dependent SHG conversion at 488nm using a monolithic DBR tapered diode laser

We present a study of the single pass SHG conversion as a function of the Rayleigh length (RL) and beam diameter (BD) using a monolithic distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) tapered laser. The DBR tapered laser has a 6th order surface grating and a ridge waveguide. Single longitudinal mode emission at 978nm with a side-mode suppression ratio of more than 40dB and at an output power of 2.7W at 15°C have been obtained in continuous wave operation. The beam was collimated using an aspheric and a cylindrical lens and focused using a variety of lenses with various focal lengths. The resulting caustics were acquired using a camera and used for SHG in a 5cm periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) crystal. This allowed an investigation of the dependency of the SHG conversion efficiency on the RLs and BDs. We obtained 330mW of output power at 488nm using the optimal focus length. The experiments showed that an optimum conversion requires longer focal lengths then forecasted by Boyd-Kleinmans theory, which is explained due to the partial coherence. We developed an extension of that theory to account for that partial coherence, which bases in principle on a mismatch related general Agrawals nonlinear integration kernel. We use this theory to explain the dependence of the SHG efficiency from the beam propagation factor M2.

Four-wave interference and perfect blaze

The recently calculated high diffraction efficiencies for TE- and TM-polarized light (perfect blaze) for echelette gratings are explained by four-wave interference, which is formed as a double periodical pattern in the cross section of the grating plane. The blazed grating profile should match this interference pattern for a single reference light wavelength. The recently published data are the special case of a general design. The prognoses of the model are connected with large grating constants in comparison with the light wavelength, where short grating constants need comparison with numerical methods.

1 W at 531 nm generated in a ppMgO:LN planar waveguide by means of frequency doubling of a DBR tapered diode laser

In this work, we investigate experimentally second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a periodically poled 5 %mol MgO doped LiNbO3 (ppMgO:LN) planar waveguide. As a pump source a 6 mm long distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) tapered diode laser is applied. The laser emits nearly diffraction limited, spectrally single-mode continuous-wave radiation at 1063 nm and is therefore well suited for the SHG process. With the applied lens system in a bench-top experiment a coupling efficiency into the planar waveguide of 73 % is reached. A maximal SH power of 1.07 W is generated at an opto-optical and electro-optical conversion efficiency of 26 % and 8.4 %, respectively. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest power level generated in a waveguide structure by means of frequency doubling of diode laser radiation in a single-pass configuration.