Evaluation of the diffraction losses for a single-element diode laser transmitter in a free-space optical link

The losses in an optical link using a diode laser transmitter are calculated as a function of the size of the transmitter lens and the degree of astigmatic wavefront aberration present in the diode laser output. Unlike previous treatments, this treatment accounts for the correlation between the intensity distribution and wavefront aberrations in the calculation of the Strehl intensity by modeling the laser output as a truncated astigmatic Gaussian beam. Families of curves showing the Strehl intensity versus astigmatism at various truncations are presented. The results can be generally applied in calculating the link losses for any diode laser transmitter whose astigmatic Seidel coefficient or root-mean-square wavefront aberration has been measured. Examples using wavefront measurements of the output of single-element gain-guided and index-guided diode lasers are also presented