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An asymmetric waveguide laser diode with a thick active layer operated with enhanced gain switching is shown to be able to produce ∼100 ps, ∼25 W optical pulses in fundamental transverse mode with ∼15 A, ∼1.5 ns injection current pulses. A pulsed time-of-flight distance measurement demonstration utilizing this laser diode and a SPAD detector indicates centimetre-level precision and compensated accuracy from uncooperative targets at tens to hundreds of metres in a measurement time of a fraction of a second. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the recent advances in the development of semiconductor disk lasers (SDLs) producing yellow-orange and mid-IR radiation. In particular, we focus on presenting the fabrication challenges and characteristics of high-power GaInNAs- and GaSb based gain mirrors. These two material systems have recently sparked a new wave of interest in developing SDLs for high-impact applications in medicine, spectroscopy, or astronomy. The dilute nitride (GaInNAs) gain mirrors enable emission of more than 11 W of output power at a wavelength range of 1180-1200 nm and subsequent intracavity frequency doubling to generate yelloworange radiation with power exceeding 7W. The GaSb gain mirrors have been used to leverage the advantages offered by SDLs to the 2-3 μmwavelength range. Most recently, GaSb-based SDLs incorporating semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors were used to generate optical pulses as short as 384 fs at 2 μm, the shortest pulses obtained from a semiconductor laser at this wavelength range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a simulation-based analysis of laterally-corrugated ridge-waveguide distributed feedback semiconductor lasers emitting at 980 nm. The simulations were performed using software developed in-house and the PICS3D software package from Crosslight Software Inc. The effects of the corrugation geometry, phase-shift section, and mirror reflectivities on single longitudinal mode operation are discussed. The lasers, designed along the guidelines derived from the simulation results, were fabricated by using molecular beam epitaxy for wafer growth and low-cost nano-imprint lithography. They exhibited stable single-mode operation with up to 50 dB side-mode suppression ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of novel vertical external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) designed for simultaneous dual-wavelength emission is presented. Inhomogeneous optical pumping of the nonidentical quantum wells of the active region has been studied. The novel rate equations description of our VECSEL is presented taking into account a strong time-delayed feedback. Steady-state stability conditions and the dynamics of dual-wavelength lasing have been investigated. It appears that tendency to self-pulsation due to Q-switching at high pump power is avoidable by accurate modeling and epitaxial growth of the active region of the laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room temperature lasing operation at 599 nm for a AlGaInP/AlInP/GaAs edge-emitting laser structure is reported. The structure was grown on GaAs substrate and pumped optically with a 532 nm Q-switched laser. The lasing threshold for a 2 mm long and 25 μm wide ridge waveguide structure was 30 mW of average pump power. The orange output beam had an optical spectral width of 1.7 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]