Scaling properties of active-grating amplified surface emitting lasers

The effect of amplified spontaneous emission on the coherent power output, brightness, and conversion efficiency of an active-grating amplified surface-emitting laser is analyzed. The optimum amplifier length for maximizing the brightness of the amplified coherent light is calculated. Although the coherent output power and brightness increase monotonically with length up to the optimum amplifier length, the conversion efficiency decreases monotonically. Beyond the optimum amplifier length, the coherent power output rapidly decreases to zero, as the amplified spontaneous emission intensity coupled into the amplifier mode increases and quenches the gain.<
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