Princeton Optronics announces release of several high power laser products based on Vertical Cavity Surface Emitter (VCSEL) technology. The products include CW laser arrays, QCW laser arrays and single mode devices at 980nm. Single mode devices at 1064nm are also being offered. The products can be found at their web site: www.princetonoptronics.com

Princeton Optronics has developed VCSEL 2-D arrays for pumping applications which deliver as much as 230W of CW power from a small 5mmx5mm chip with an emission area of 4.68x4.68mm, delivering a power density of >1kW/cm2 from the emission area. In QCW mode VCSEL arrays deliver emitter power density of 3.5kW/cm2. The efficiency of VCSEL devices at Princeton Optronics has exceeded 51%.

In addition to high power and good efficiency, VCSELs have a number of desirable features for high power pumping. They are easy to heatsink because of their 2D geometry. They are like silicon chips and can be packaged and cooled by silicon-like technologies. They can work to high ambient temperatures like 50 deg C and even to 80 deg C, whereby they do not need chillers and can be cooled with water at room temperature. They are much less sensitive to temperature variations (~0.065nm/deg C, 5 times lower than edge emitters) and therefore their wavelength does not change as much as edge emitters. The VCSEL arrays have a much lower wavelength spread. A 100W or 200W array typically has a wavelength spread of about 0.8nm, compared to +/- 2.5nm for edge-emitters. The reliability of the VCSELs and VCSEL arrays are known to be over 50 times that of edge-emitters. The higher reliability is achieved as a result of low power density from the emission aperture and the absence of catastrophic optical damage (COD), which occurs in the edge-emitting lasers. Another attractive feature of the VCSELs is that they have a circular output beam, so that it is easy to optically couple them to fibers or focus them to a small spot without using any complicated optics.
Single mode VCSELs and VCSEL arrays have been fabricated and because of their geometry they are easily coupled to fibers. Princeton Optronics has coupled an 80W single-mode VCSEL arrays to 400-micron-diameter, 0.4NA fibers and are currently coupling higher power arrays to the fibers. Single-mode VCSEL arrays coupled with a microlens array deliver a collimated beam, which is easily focused to a small spot for high power density pumping of solid-state lasers. 80W of power focused to 400 microns diameter amounts to a power density of >60kW/cm2. The products based on single mode arrays will be offered later in the year.

Products listed in the website: www.princetonoptronics.com