| Semiconductor injection lasers have the capability of producing very high output powers if a large array of diodes can be fabricated. The development of useful high power semiconductor lasers depends on fabrication processes which overcome the problems associated with high power laser operation. This work describes developments in semiconductor fabrication processes which have led to the fabrication of large linear arrays capable of high power operation.; Much of this work has been devoted to the fabrication of low threshold current, high efficiency laser diodes using the graded barrier quantum well (GBQW) structure grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The effects of various processing methods on the optical properties of the laser, such as the threshold current, efficiency, emission wavelength, and near- and far-field radiation patterns, are described and explained. Low threshold current operation with stable radiation patterns have been observed in several different types of laser devices.; One problem which has prevented high power semiconductor laser operation is lateral lasing and amplified spontaneous emission processes which limit the width of most semiconductor lasers to less than {dollar}sim{dollar}200 {dollar}mu{dollar}m. This problem has been solved through the use of a non-planar active region, which allows the width of the laser array to be increased to at least several millimeters. The characteristics of these non-planar laser arrays are presented. |
