Short-cavity InGaAsP injection lasers: Dependence of mode spectra and single-longitudinal-mode power on cavity length

Simple expressions are given to describe the lower and upper limits of the single-mode (single-frequency) power as a function of the cavity length for InGaAsP injection lasers. It has been found that the lower limit of the single-mode power is proportional to the cavity length, while the upper limit is inversely proportional to the cavity length. Thus, a short-cavity laser provides a favorable geometry for obtaining single mode output over a wide range of power levels and currents above threshold. The mode stability versus temperature is also improved by a short-cavity design. The theoretical results agree with our recent experiments on very-short-cavity (
50-75 \mu
m) stripe-geometry InGaAsP lasers, which have shown consistent single-mode output over wide current ranges.