5 W CW diffraction-limited InGaAs flared amplifier at 980 nm

A broad-area flared amplifier has been fabricated which produces 5 W CW at 972 nm in a single-lobed, diffraction-limited far field pattern. A high power, tunable diode laser is used for the injection source with an injected power of /spl sim/115 mW. We believe that the 5 W CW result reported is /spl sim/40% higher power than any reported power for 980 nm flared amplifiers and is the highest diffraction-limited power ever demonstrated from an all-diode source at any wavelength.