Design and characterization of a nonuniform linear vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser array with a Gaussian far-field distribution

A 980 nm bottom-emitting vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser array with a nonuniform linear arrangement is reported to realize emission with a Gaussian far-field distribution. This array is composed of five symmetrically arranged elements of 200 mu m, 150 mu m, and 100 mu m diameter, with center spacing of 300 mu m and 250 mu m, respectively. An output power of 880mW with a high power density of 1kW/cm(2) is obtained. The divergence angle is below 20 degrees in the range of operating current from 0A to 6A. The theoretical simulation of the near-field and the far-field distribution is in good agreement with the experimental result. The comparison between this nonuniform linear array, the single device, and the conventional two-dimensional array is carried out to demonstrate the good performance of the linear array. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America