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Laser Diode and LED Light Characteristics

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Laser Diode and LED Light Characteristics

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Semiconductor lasers offer the benefits of efficiency, electrical pumping, and the ability to easily integrate with modern electronics which contribute to their ubiquitous usage. However, some of their output characteristics, particularly in terms of output power and beam quality, are considerably less than what can be achieved with other types of solid-state lasers. For instance, the small and asymmetric junction region from which radiation is emitted leads to a laser beam that does not possess an ideal TEM00 mode and is highly divergent, spreading unequally in two directions. The lasing bandwidth is large enough that multimode operation is likely and the spectral purity is not as good as most solid-state lasers. Furthermore, it can be difficult to achieve high output powers with single-mode operation due to the possibility of optical damage and thermal management issues. Numerous approaches have been developed to mitigate these issues, leading to more desirable output characteristics for laser diodes.

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