A heat-assisted magnetic recording head includes a slider body having a waveguide that delivers light to a near-field transducer. The waveguide is optically coupled to an input coupler a of the slider body that receives the light. A laser diode is mounted on or in the slider body. The laser diode has an integral exit facet proximate the input coupler. The exit facet has a curved profile that modifies a shape of the light emitted from the exit facet into the input coupler.

Gallium and nitrogen containing optical devices operable as laser diodes and methods of forming the same are disclosed. The devices include a gallium and nitrogen containing substrate member, which may be semipolar or non-polar. The devices include a chip formed from the gallium and nitrogen substrate member. The chip has a width and a length, a dimension of less than 150 microns characterizing the width of the chip. The devices have a cavity oriented substantially parallel to the length of the chip.

Proposed is an optical component comprising: at least one first waveguide, the first waveguide comprising at least one partially reflective output end facet, wherein light passing the output end facet of the first waveguide propagates along a first propagation direction, and at least one second waveguide receiving the light passing the output end facet of the first waveguide at an input end facet of the second waveguide and guiding the light in a second propagation direction, wherein the output end facet and the input end facet are spaced from each other; and wherein the first waveguide and the second waveguide are arranged such that the first propagation direction and the second propagation direction are different. This proposal provides a concept, which is more efficient in view of coupling efficiency between the waveguides of the optical component.

Provided is a semiconductor chip that can reduce the man-hours for mounting on an optical module, a subcarrier, or the like, and reducing the dedicated area of the subcarrier or the like. The semiconductor chip includes a waveguide that is terminated inside at an output end portion from which light is emitted, without contacting an emission end face, and a window region made of a bulk semiconductor and disposed between the waveguide and the emission end face, wherein the semiconductor chip is provided with an open groove formed in the output end portion so that the emission end face is a side wall formed by etching.

A semiconductor optical amplifier includes a conductive region that is provided on a substrate and allows light transmission, and a nonconductive region that is provided around the conductive region and prohibits light transmission. The conductive region includes a first region including a light-coupling portion to which light from an external light-source unit is coupled, and a second region having a narrower width than the first region and connected to the first region through a connecting portion, the second region including a light-amplifying portion amplifying the light from the light-coupling portion by propagating the light in a predetermined propagating direction along a surface of the substrate, the light-amplifying portion outputting the amplified light in a direction intersecting the surface of the substrate. Seen in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, the semiconductor optical amplifier includes a portion where a width of the conductive region is continuously reduced from the first region to the second region.

A semiconductor laser device includes a submount and an edge-emitting semiconductor laser chip mounted to the submount by a junction-down method. The semiconductor laser chip includes a semiconductor substrate, a stacked growth layer in which m (m≥1) laser resonators are formed, m P electrodes, and an N electrode. When a beam emission direction is denoted as a z-axis, a direction of the thickness of the semiconductor substrate as a y-axis, and a direction orthogonal to the z-axis and the y-axis as an x-axis, the m laser resonators are located in an area of the stacked growth layer except directly under a center of the second face of the semiconductor substrate in the x-axis direction. More preferably, the m laser resonators are located on the side opposite to the center of the second face of the semiconductor substrate when viewed from the center of the first face thereof.

Edge-emitting laser diodes having mirror facets include passivation coatings that are conditioned using an ex-situ process to condition the insulating material used to form the passivation layer. An external energy source (laser, flash lamp, e-beam) is utilized to irradiate the material at a given dosage and for a period of time sufficient to condition the complete thickness of passivation layer. This ex-situ laser treatment is applied to the layers covering both facets of the laser diode (which may comprise both the passivation layers and the coating layers) to stabilize the entire facet overlay. Importantly, the ex-situ process can be performed while the devices are still in bar form.

Described herein is a two chip photonic device (e.g., a hybrid master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA)) where a gain region and optical amplifier region are formed on a III-V chip and a variable reflector (which in combination with the gain region forms a laser cavity) is formed on a different semiconductor chip that includes silicon, silicon nitride, lithium niobate, or the like. Sides of the two chips are disposed in a facing relationship so that optical signals can transfer between the gain region, the variable reflector, and the optical amplifier.

An optical device has a gallium and nitrogen containing substrate including a surface region and a strain control region, the strain control region being configured to maintain a quantum well region within a predetermined strain state. The device also has a plurality of quantum well regions overlying the strain control region.

To provide a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser diode obtained through a step of forming a mirror facet using an etching technology, in which the threshold current density for laser oscillation is reduced.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser diode includes a step of forming a plurality of semiconductor laser diodes on a substrate, and then dividing the substrate into each semiconductor laser diode. The method includes a step of forming a laminate containing a first semiconductor layer 21, a waveguide layer (first guide layer 22, light emitting layer 23, second guide layer 24), and a second semiconductor layer 25 in this order on a substrate 1, a step of etching the laminate to separate the laminate into a portion serving as a resonance region and the other portion, an electrode layer forming step of forming a layer 51 serving as a second electrode on the second semiconductor layer 25 of the laminate to between the mirror facet 200 of the resonance region and a position where the substrate 1 is divided in the dividing step, and, after the electrode layer forming step, an etching step of simultaneously or sequentially performing the removal of a portion 51a formed at a position on the outer side relative to the mirror facet 200 of the layer serving as the second electrode and the formation the mirror facet 200.