AlGaAs/GaAs visible ridge waveguide laser with multicavity structure

Ridge waveguide lasers of two different cavity configurations are described. First is the multisection ridge laser structure in which the longitudinal mode selection due to the coupled-cavity effect was observed and single-frequency operation was achieved. In this structure, stable single-transverse-mode operation was ensured by the central 5 μm wide section, and the beam waist and power output were enlarged by the outer 10 μm wide sections. Output power of more than 13 mW under pulsed excitation was obtained. The second configuration is the shallow groove ridge laser in which the 5 μm wide shallow groove terminates slightly above the active region and provides an index perturbation that contributes to mode selection. All the lasers are designed to emil in the visible range between 7600 and 7900 Å. The shortest observed wavelength is 7570 Å, and can be seen by the naked eye.