Injection laser sources for fiber optic communications

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Abstract
This paper describes some of the laser designs and GaAs and GaAlAs epitaxial and wafer-processing technology currently used in the fabrication of laser diodes intended for incorporation into fiber optic communication or data link systems. Two classes of laser diodes are described: cw laser diodes emitting up to 75 mW and devices emitting in excess of 200 mW peak pulsed power at 27°C at duty cycles up to 10%. The fabrication and assembly of these devices is presented in detail, and the problems encountered in the transfer of these processes from a research environment to a manufacturing operation are discussed. Data are presented showing laser-emitted power, both pulsed and continuous, the angular distribution of emitted power, emission wavelength and bandwidth, optical coupling efficiency to various fibers, and laser lifetimes. In addition, the interaction between laser threshold current density, thermal impedance, emitted beam distribution, and fiber optic coupling is described. Several fiber optic laser coupling schemes are described. Finally, the results of testing pulsed laser diodes to see if they meet military environmental and performance test requirements are described with specific data presented showing the value of burn-in testing to eliminate lasers that exhibit abnormally short lifetimes from test lots.