25-W CW high-brightness tapered semiconductor laser-array

High-power high-brightness laser diode arrays comprising 25 tapered laser oscillators have been fabricated. The devices, based on recently developed low-modal gain epitaxial layer-structures, deliver a maximum output power of more than 25-W continuous-wave. A high beam quality uniformity is achieved with an average beam quality factor of M2= 2.6 for each individual emitter. Compared to conventional broad-area laser diode arrays the brightness of each emitter is improved by more than an order of magnitude in the slow-axis direction. These arrays have the potential to produce optical power densities as high as 1 MW/cm2.