Resonant optical transmission and coupling in phase-locked diode laser arrays of antiguides: The resonant optical waveguide array

Abstract

Uniform linear arrays of antiguides have 100% optical transmission between elements when the interelement spacing is an integer number of leaky wave half-wavelengths in the lateral direction. Resonant in-phase-mode and out-of-phase-mode coupling occurs when the number of half-wavelengths is odd and even, respectively. Such devices are called resonant optical waveguide (ROW) arrays. The discrimination between the resonant array mode and adjacent array modes reaches a maximum in close proximity to the resonance. An AlGaAs/GaAs ROW diode laser array operating close to resonance is demonstrated. Devices with virtually uniform near-field intensity profiles operate in stable, diffraction-limited in-phase modes to drive levels in excess of three times threshold.