Disclosed herein are various embodiments for stronger and more powerful high speed laser arrays. For example, an apparatus is disclosed that comprises an active mesa structure in combination with an electrical waveguide, wherein the active mesa structure comprises a plurality of laser regions within the active mesa structure itself, each laser region of the active mesa structure being electrically isolated within the active mesa structure itself relative to the other laser regions of the active mesa structure.

In an optical module that irradiates an object with a light beam and detects reflected light thereof, a linear light beam without distortion is emitted regardless of an incident angle of a scanned light beam.

The light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a predetermined direction. The converging unit converges the light beam emitted from each of the plurality of light emitting elements into a substantially parallel light beam or a light beam having a predetermined angular width at a predetermined diaphragm center point. The light conversion unit converts the light beam through the converging unit into a linear light beam in a line direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the light emitting unit by the optical surface. The light detection unit detects reflected light from the object with respect to the linear light beam. In the optical surface of the light conversion unit, the curvature radius in the arrangement direction of the light emitting unit is substantially equal to the distance from the virtual diaphragm center point in the arrangement direction of the light emitting unit to the center point of the optical surface of the light conversion unit regardless of the position in the line direction.

Configurations for an edge-generated vertical emission laser that vertically emits light and fabrication methods of the edge-generated vertical emission laser are disclosed. The edge-generated vertical emission laser may include a distributed feedback (DFB) laser structure, a grating coupler, and contact layers. Light may propagate through the DFB laser structure, approximately parallel to the top surface of the edge-generated vertical emission laser and be directed by the grating coupler toward the top surface of the edge-generated vertical emission laser. The light may vertically emit from the edge-generated vertical emission laser approximately perpendicular to the top surface of the edge-generated vertical emission laser. Additionally, the contact layers may be n-metal and p-metal, which may be located on the same side of the edge-generated vertical emission laser. These features of the edge-generated vertical emission laser may facilitate ease of testing and increased options for packaging.

A system and method (10) for heating objects (O) during a thermal treatment process in a production line (P) is described. The system (10) comprises a transport system (11), a minor arrangement (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206) comprising a first mirror surface (21, 21′, 21″) and a second minor surface (22, 22′, 22″) arranged at opposite sides, so that the objects (O) may be transported between the minor surfaces (21, 22, 21′, 22′, 21″, 22″) along the production line and a radiation device (30) comprising a number of lasers for generating light (L). The radiation device (30) and the mirror arrangement (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206) are constructed such that the main direction (R) of light (L) that enters the mirror arrangement (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206) is directed towards the first mirror surface (21, 21′, 21″) at an angle to the production line (P), and the light (L) subsequently undergoes multiple reflections between the mirror surfaces (21, 22, 21′, 22′, 21″, 22″) so that a series of multiple reflections of the light (L) travels in the transport direction (OT) along at least a section of the minor surface (21, 22, 21′, 22′, 21″, 22″) or travels against the transport direction (OT) along at least a section of the minor surface (21, 22, 21′, 22′, 21″, 22″) and heats the objects (O) being transported between the minor surfaces (21, 22, 21′, 22′, 21″, 22″).

A device includes an illumination device for emitting an illumination beam. The illumination device includes an emitter array including multiple light emitters; and a micro-lens array (MLA) including multiple micro-lenses. The MLA is positioned to receive light emitted from the emitter array. Light from the MLA forms the illumination beam. A first region of the MLA is offset from the emitter array by a first offset amount, and a second region of the MLA is offset from the emitter array by a second offset amount different than the first offset amount.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser for use in an optical module for measuring distances and/or movements, using the self-mixing effect. The semiconductor laser comprises a layer structure including an active region (3) embedded between two layer sequences (1, 2) and further comprises a photodetector arranged to measure an intensity of an optical field resonating in said laser. The photodetector is a phototransistor composed of an emitter layer (e), a collector layer (c) and a base layer (b), each of which being a bulk layer and forming part of one of said layer sequences (1, 2). With the proposed semiconductor laser an optical module based on this laser can be manufactured more easily, at lower costs and in a smaller size than known modules.

A method of forming an optical structure in a semiconductor substrate includes applying a layer of photoresist on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, exposing the photoresist with exposure light, and subsequently developing the photoresist. After developing, a remaining layer of the photoresist has a photoresist relief profile. The method further includes etching the photoresist and the semiconductor substrate to transfer the photoresist relief profile into the semiconductor substrate to obtain the optical structure in one or more first sub-areas and a support structure in one or more second sub-areas. A thickness of the layer of the photoresist applied to the surface of the semiconductor substrate is greater than a product of a maximum height difference of a relief profile of the optical structure and a ratio between etch rates of the photoresist and of the semiconductor substrate.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) may include a substrate and a set of epitaxial layers on the substrate. The set of epitaxial layers may include a first mirror and a second mirror, an active region between the first mirror and the second mirror, and an oxidation layer to provide optical and electrical confinement in the VCSEL. The oxidation layer may be near the first mirror. The set of epitaxial layers may include an oxide lens to control a characteristic of an output beam emitted by the VCSEL. The oxide lens may be separate from the oxidation layer, and may be a lens that is separate from the first mirror and from the second mirror.

An optical device may include a semiconductor laser chip to independently generate four laser beams at different wavelengths. Each laser beam, of the four laser beams, may be directed to a respective optical output of the optical device with a sub-micron level of tolerance of each laser beam relative to the respective optical outputs of the optical device, and each laser beam, of the four laser beams, may be associated with a different optical path from the semiconductor laser chip to the respective optical output of the optical device. The optical device may include a lens to receive each of the four laser beams. The lens may be positioned to direct each laser beam, of the four laser beams, toward the respective optical output of the optical device. The optical device may include an optical isolator to receive each of the four laser beams.

A laser diode and a method for manufacturing a laser diode are disclosed. In an embodiment a laser diode includes a surface emitting semiconductor laser configured to emit electromagnetic radiation and an optical element arranged downstream of the semiconductor laser in a radiation direction, wherein the optical element includes a diffractive structure or a meta-optical structure or a lens structure, and wherein the optical element and the semiconductor laser are cohesively connected to each other.