Semiconductor pump laser technology

Recent progress in high-power semiconductor lasers for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers is described, focusing on 1.48-μm InGaAsP/InP lasers and 0.98-μm InGaAs/GaAs lasers. The experimental output powers exceed 200 mW (the maximum power was 325 mW) for 1.48-μm lasers, and simulation results indicate that over 400 mW could be obtained by optimizing parameters in strained-layer (SL) multiple-quantum-well (MQW) lasers. Stable operation over a few thousand hours under 100-mW power is demonstrated for liquid-phase-epitaxy-grown lasers, MQW lasers, and SL-MQW lasers grown by all-metal organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). For 0.98-μm lasers, improvement in the fiber coupling efficiencies and long-term reliabilities are described. Their power coupled into a single-mode fiber has reached over 100 mW, with coupling efficiencies of approximately 40%. Although reliability seems to be one of the drawbacks compared with 1.48-μm lasers, stable operation for over 10,000 h at 50°C-30 mW has been reported.