Grating coupled surface emitters: integrated lasers amplifiers and beam shaping outcouplers

摘要

Grating coupled surface emitting lasers (GCSELs) are in- plane lasers monolithically integrated with grating outcouplers for beam shaping and image generation. Highly directional and efficient outcouplers can be formed using various grating and waveguide geometries. Beam shaping features are incorporated using a computer generated waveguide hologram that allows the wavefront of the emitted light to be tailored for the required beam shape. Requirements on the integrated in-plane laser include a wide and spatially coherent guided wave with a minimum of wavefront distortion and a stable emission wavelength. Promising lasers for this purpose are master-oscillator power-amplifier configurations as well as various kinds of unstable resonator designs. Here we present results from modeling and experiments on the key elements of GCSELs as well as fully integrated GCSELs of linear and circular geometries.