High power nonuniform linear vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser array with a Gaussian far-field distribution

A 980 nm bottom-emitting vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array with a nonuniform linear arrangement is reported to realize high power with a Gaussian far-field distribution. This array is composed of five symmetrically-arranged elements of 200 μm, 150 μm, and 100 μm diameters, with the center spacing of 300 μm and 250 μm respectively. This structure makes it possible to discriminate against the higher order array supermodes. The theoretical simulation of the far-field distribution is in good agreement with the experimental result. An output power of 880 mW with a power density of 1 KW/cm2 is obtained. The divergence angle is below 20° in the range of operating current from 0 A to 4 A. The comparison between this nonuniform linear array and the conventional two-dimensional array is carried out to demonstrate the good performance of the linear array. A peak power of over 20 W is achieved under a short pulsed operation with a repetition frequency of 1 kHz.