Laser package having multiple emitters configured on a substrate member

• US 9,595,813 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2012
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera SLD Laser Incorporated (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Soraa Laser Diode, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Raring, James W., Rudy, Paul, Bai, Chendong
• Primary Examiner(s): Niu, Xinning
• Application Number:
  US13/356,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20130022064A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,877 Days
• Field of Search: 372/50.12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45124 Aluminium (Al) as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/49111 the connectors connecting two common bonding areas, e.g. Litz or braid wires
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/45 of an individual wire connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/14 Semiconductor lasers with special structural design for lasing in a specific polarisation mode
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2304/04 MOCVD or MOVPE
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02251 using optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02255 using beam deflecting elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02326 Arrangements for relative positioning of laser diodes and optical components, e.g. grooves in the mount to fix optical fibres or lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02476 Heat spreaders, i.e. improving heat flow between laser chip and heat dissipating elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0287 Facet reflectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2009 by using electron barrier layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/2201 in a specific crystallographic orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/320275 semi-polar orientation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/3211 characterised by special cladding layers, e.g. details on band-discontinuities
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/34333 with a well layer based on Ga(In)N or Ga(In)P, e.g. blue laser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4012 Beam combining, e.g. by the use of fibres, gratings, polarisers, prisms
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4031 : Edge-emitting structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4056 : emitting light in more than one direction

Abstract

A method and device for emitting electromagnetic radiation at high power using nonpolar or semipolar gallium containing substrates such as GaN, AlN, InN, InGaN, AlGaN, and AlInGaN, is provided. In various embodiments, the laser device includes plural laser emitters emitting green or blue laser light, integrated a substrate.

Claims

1. A laser device comprising:

a substrate containing gallium and nitrogen material, the substrate having a surface region characterized by a semipolar or nonpolar orientation, the substrate having a front edge and a back edge;

one or more active regions positioned within the substrate;

an array of N laser emitters overlaying the one or more active regions, N being greater than 3, the array of N laser emitters extending substantially from the front edge of the substrate to the back edge of the substrate, each of the N laser emitters being configured to emit a blue or green laser at the front edge of the substrate, the array of N laser emitters being characterized by an average operating power of at least 25 mW, each of the N laser emitters being characterized by a length and a width, the length being 400 um to 800 um, the width being 1 um to 3 um, and edges of each of the N laser emitters extending substantially parallel to one another along the entire length of the N laser emitters;

a common n-side electrode coupled to a bottom side of the substrate;

a common p-side electrode coupled to the array of N laser emitters, the common n-side electrode and the common p-side electrode electrically coupling the array of N laser emitters to one another in a parallel configuration;

one or more optical members positioned at the front edge of the substrate for optically collimating radiation from the array of N laser emitters to provide a laser output having a spectral width of at least 4 nm and a total operating power of at least 0.5 W; and

a heat sink thermally coupled to the first substrate.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a second substrate stacked on a top of the first substrate.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a second substrate stacked by a side of the first substrate.

4. A laser device comprising:

a substrate containing gallium and nitrogen material, the substrate having a surface region characterized by a semipolar or nonpolar orientation, the substrate having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, and a front edge and a back edge opposite the front edge;

an N number of active regions positioned near the top side of the first substrate, N being greater than 3, each of the active regions comprises a doped region associated with a p type;

an array of N laser emitters overlaying the doped regions, each of the N laser emitters being configured to emit a blue or green laser at the front edge of the substrate, the array of N laser emitters being characterized by an average operating power of at least 25 mW, each of the N laser emitters being characterized by a length and a width, the length being at least 400 um, the width being 1 um to 3 um, and edges of each of the N laser emitters extending substantially parallel to one another along the entire length of the N laser emitters;

a common n-side electrode coupled to the bottom side of the substrate;

a common p-side electrode coupled to the array of N laser emitters, the common n-side electrode and the common p-side electrode electrically coupling the array of N laser emitters to one another in a parallel configuration;

one or more optical members positioned at the front edge of the substrate for optically collimating radiation from the array of N laser emitters to provide a laser output having a spectral width of at least 4 nm and a total operating power of at least 0.5 W; and

a submount characterized by a thermal emissivity of at least 0.6.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the submount comprises diamond material or copper tungsten alloy material or beryllium oxide material.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein the surface region is characterized by a {11-22}, {20-21}, or {30-31} plane or within +/−

5 degrees from one of these planes.

7. The device of claim 4 wherein the submount is directly coupled to the top side of the substrate.

8. The device of claim 4 wherein the submount is directly coupled to the bottom side of the substrate.

9. The device of claim 4 wherein the submount is directly coupled to the array of N laser emitters;

wherein the one or more optical members comprises a collimating lens.

10. The device of claim 4 wherein the laser device is characterized by an output wavelength of about 505-550 nm or 425-475 nm.

11. The device of claim 4 further comprising a heat sink thermally coupled to the submount.

12. The device of claim 4 wherein the laser device is characterized by a peak wall plug efficiency of at least 25%;

and further comprising one or more quantum wells positioned within the N number of active regions.

13. A laser device comprising:

a substrate, the substrate having a front edge and a back edge;

an active region positioned within the substrate;

an array of N laser emitters overlaying the active region, N being greater than 3, the array of N laser emitters extending substantially from the front edge of the substrate to the back edge of the substrate, each of the N laser emitters being configured to emit a blue or green laser at the front edge of the substrate, the array of N laser emitters being characterized by an average operating power, each of the N laser emitters being characterized by a length and a width, edges of each of the N laser emitters extending substantially parallel to one another along the entire length of the N laser emitters;

a common n-side electrode coupled to a back side of the substrate;

a common p-side electrode coupled to the array of N laser emitters, the common n-side electrode and the common p-side electrode electrically coupling the array of N laser emitters to one another in a parallel configuration; and

at least one optical member positioned at the front edge of the substrate for optically combining radiation from the array of N laser emitters to provide a laser output having a spectral width of at least 4 nm and a total operating power of at least 0.5 W.