A packaged integrated white light source configured for illumination and communication or sensing comprises one or more laser diode devices. An output facet configured on the laser diode device outputs a laser beam of first electromagnetic radiation with a first peak wavelength. The first wavelength from the laser diode provides at least a first carrier channel for a data or sensing signal.

A semiconductor laser element includes an n-side semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a p-side semiconductor layer. A least a portion of the p-side semiconductor layer forms a ridge projecting upward. The p-side semiconductor layer includes an undoped first part, an electron barrier layer containing a p-type impurity and having a larger band gap energy than the first part, and a second part having at least one p-type semiconductor layer. The first part includes an undoped p-side composition graded layer in which a band gap energy increases towards the electron barrier layer, and an undoped p-side intermediate layer disposed on or above the p-side composition graded layer. A lower end of the ridge is positioned at the p-side intermediate layer.

A semiconductor laser according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a semiconductor stack. The semiconductor stack includes, in the following order, a first cladding layer, an active layer, one or a plurality of low-concentration impurity layers, a contact layer, and a second cladding layer that includes a transparent conductive material. The semiconductor stack further has, in a portion including the contact layer, a ridge extending in a stacked in-plane direction. Each low-concentration impurity layer has an impurity concentration of 5.0×10.sup.17 cm.sup.−3 or less, and a total thickness of the low-concentration impurity layer is 250 nm or more and 1000 nm or less. A distance between the second cladding layer and the low-concentration impurity layer closest to the second cladding layer is 150 nm or less.

A light source system or apparatus configured with an infrared illumination source includes a gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode based white light source. The light source system includes a first pathway configured to direct directional electromagnetic radiation from the gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode to a first wavelength converter and to output a white light emission. In some embodiments infrared emitting laser diodes are included to generate the infrared illumination. In some embodiments infrared emitting wavelength converter members are included to generate the infrared illumination. In some embodiments a second wavelength converter is optically excited by a UV or blue emitting gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode, a laser diode operating in the long wavelength visible spectrum such as a green laser diode or a red laser diode, by a near infrared emitting laser diode, by the white light emission produced by the first wavelength converter, or by some combination thereof. A beam shaper may be configured to direct the white light emission and an infrared emission for illuminating a target of interest and transmitting a data signal. In some configurations, sensors and feedback loops are included.

A surface emitting laser element formed of a group III nitride semiconductor, comprising: a first clad layer of a first conductivity type; a first guide layer of the first conductivity type having a photonic crystal layer formed on the first clad layer including voids disposed having two-dimensional periodicity in a surface parallel to the layer and a first embedding layer formed on the photonic crystal layer; a second embedding layer formed on the first embedding layer by crystal growth; an active layer formed on the second embedding layer; a second guide layer formed on the active layer; and a second clad layer of a second conductivity type formed on the second guide layer, the second conductivity type being a conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type. The first embedding layer has a surface including pits disposed at surface positions corresponding to the voids.

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.

A smart light source configured for visible light communication. The light source includes a controller comprising a modem configured to receive a data signal and generate a driving current and a modulation signal based on the data signal. Additionally, the light source includes a light emitter configured as a pump-light device to receive the driving current for producing a directional electromagnetic radiation with a first peak wavelength in the ultra-violet or blue wavelength regime modulated to carry the data signal using the modulation signal. Further, the light source includes a pathway configured to direct the directional electromagnetic radiation and a wavelength converter optically coupled to the pathway to receive the directional electromagnetic radiation and to output a white-color spectrum. Furthermore, the light source includes a beam shaper configured to direct the white-color spectrum for illuminating a target of interest and transmitting the data signal.

Included is a semiconductor multilayer film in which a non-doped InAlN layer and a GaN layer formed on said InAlN layer and containing a dopant are stacked a plurality of times.

A semiconductor light emitting device of one embodiment of the present disclosure incudes: a GaN substrate having, as a principal plane, a semipolar plane or a non-polar plane inclined from a c-plane in an m-axis direction or an a-axis direction within a range from 20° to 90° both inclusive; an active layer provided on the GaN substrate; and an n-type cladding layer provided between the GaN substrate and the active layer, and including a first layer on the active layer side and a second layer on the substrate side, the first layer including AlGaInN containing 0.5% or more of indium (In), and the second layer being lower in refractive index than the first layer.

Laser diode technology incorporating etched facet mirror formation and optical coating techniques for reflectivity modification to enable ultra-high catastrophic optical mirror damage thresholds for high power laser diodes.