680 nm-band self-sustained pulsating AlGaInP visible laser diodes

We developed 680 nm-band AlGaInP visible laser diodes having very low noise characteristics with stable self-sustained pulsation for applications such as optical data storage. AlGaInP visible laser diodes are expected to become the next key device in a field of optical disk systems due to its shorter wavelength. Low relative intensity noise (RIN) is required for optical disk systems. Self-sustained pulsation is effective for the reduction of the noise. In the AlGaInP laser diodes, stable pulsating operation in the high temperature range was very difficult due to its low thermal conductivity. We successfully achieved the AlGaInP visible laser diodes with stable self-sustained pulsation and low noise in the temperature ranging from 20 to 50/spl deg/C.