1060-nm High Brightness Picosecond Pulse Generation in Photonic Band Crystal Lasers

Abstract

Photonic band crystal semiconductor lasers generating gain-switched picosecond pulses in the 1060-nm spectral range are demonstrated. The unique ultra-broad laser waveguide allows the simultaneous delivery of high output power and high beam quality, enabling the generation of optical pulses with peak brightness up to 130 MWcm -2 sr -1 . The spectral dynamics are investigated by external filtering of the laser emission. The effects of the filter bandwidth and central wavelength on the resulting optical pulse characteristics are identified. By properly chosen filter parameters, it is found that the higher order relaxation oscillation part of the optical pulse is completely suppressed even at the highest injected pulse currents, also resulting in a pulse width reduction down to less than 21.5 ps.