Development of hot diodes with new thermal dissipating submount for space applications

Space-deployable LIDAR and micro-LIDAR, which are under development at NASA require laser diodes which have high power, high laser beam quality, beam stability, simplicity, and are lightweight. Long operational life is most desirable and crucial issues for a space-deployable LIDAR system are given. A stable operational temperature in laser diodes and solid-state lasers is the key factor determining both laser beam quality and stability. The heat absorbed by laser rod in turn causes a serious thermal lensing problem and the heat accumulated within the enclosure eventually causes level shifts of electron-state in laser diodes. This thermal lensing problem and possible level shifts reduce or even spoil the beam quality, stability and efficiency. Therefore, the thermal dissipation issue must be seriously considered in the design of laser diodes.