High power and high brightness from an optically pumped InAs/InGaSb type-II midinfrared laser with low confinement

We report on optically pumped semiconductor lasers emitting near 3.8 mum that exhibit high power and low output divergence. The lasers incorporate multiple InAs/InGaSb/InAs type-II wells imbedded in an InGaAsSb waveguide that is designed to absorb the pump emission. When operated at 85 K, 0.25 mmx2.5 mm broad area devices produce >5 W of peak power under long pulse conditions. Moreover, these extremely bright devices exhibit a fast axis divergence of only similar to15degrees full width at half maximum (FWHM), coupled with a slow axis divergence of similar to6degrees FWHM. The first is due to the reduced optical confinement in the transverse direction, while the latter is attributed to the suppression of filament formation, which is another beneficial consequence of the low optical confinement. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.