The invention relates to a method for generating a laser pulse, wherein during the method a first semi-conductor laser in the form of a broadband laser diode is used to generate a pump laser pulse, the pump laser pulse is used to pump a second semi-conductor laser, the laser pulse being shorter than the pump laser pulse and the second semi-conductor laser comprising at least 20 quantum wells arranged above one another in the emission direction of the laser pulse.

A method is for making a QCL having an InP spacer within a laser core, the QCL to provide a CW output in a high quality beam. The method may include selectively setting parameters for the QCL. The parameters may include a number of the InP spacer, a thickness for each InP spacer, a number of stages in the laser core, and a dopant concentration value in the laser core. The method may include forming the QCL based upon the parameters so that a figure of merit comprises a greatest value for a fundamental mode of operation for the QCL.

A QCL may include a substrate, an emitting facet, and semiconductor layers adjacent the substrate and defining an active region. The active region may have a longitudinal axis canted at an oblique angle to the emitting facet of the substrate. The QCL may include an optical grating being adjacent the active region and configured to emit one of a CW laser output or a pulsed laser output through the emitting facet of substrate.

To achieve high-power single transverse mode laser, we here propose a supersymmetry (SUSY)-based triple-ridge waveguide semiconductor laser structure, which is composed of an electrically pumped main broad-ridge waveguide located in the middle and a pair of lossy auxiliary partner waveguides. The auxiliary partner waveguides are designed to provide dissipative modes that can phase match and couple with the higher-order modes in the main waveguide. By appropriately manipulating the gain-loss discrimination of the modes in the laser cavity, one can effectively suppress all the undesired higher-order transverse modes while keeping the fundamental one almost unaffected, thereby ensuring stable single-mode operation with a larger emitting aperture and accordingly a higher output power than a conventional single-transverse-mode ridge waveguide diode laser.

A semiconductor laser is provided that includes a semiconductor layer sequence and electrical contact surfaces. The semiconductor layer sequence includes a waveguide with an active zone. Furthermore, the semiconductor layer sequence includes a first and a second cladding layer, between which the waveguide is located. At least one oblique facet is formed on the semiconductor layer sequence, which has an angle of 45° to a resonator axis with a tolerance of at most 10°. This facet forms a reflection surface towards the first cladding layer for laser radiation generated during operation. A maximum thickness of the first cladding layer is between 0.5 M/n and 10 M/n at least in a radiation passage region, wherein n is the average refractive index of the first cladding layer and M is the vacuum wavelength of maximum intensity of the laser radiation.

A laser diode, comprising a transverse waveguide that is orthogonal to the lateral waveguide comprising an active layer between an n-type waveguide layer and a p-type waveguide layer, wherein the transverse waveguide is bounded by an n-type cladding layer on an n-side and p-type cladding layer on a p-side and a lateral waveguide bounded in a longitudinal direction at a first end by a high reflector (HR) coated facet and at a second end by a partial reflector (PR) coated facet, the lateral waveguide further comprising a buried higher order mode suppression layer (HOMSL) disposed beneath the p-cladding within the lateral waveguide or on one or both sides of the lateral waveguide or a combination thereof, wherein the HOMSL extends in a longitudinal direction from the HR facet a length less than the distance between the HR facet and the PR facet.

Various semiconductor laser and optical amplifier designs and injection current control methods are disclosed that enable tailoring a distribution of the injection current along an active waveguide of the laser or the optical amplifier. Such configurations can be used to reduce longitudinal current crowding along the active waveguide of the laser or the optical amplifier. The electrodes and/or one or more layers of the laser or the optical amplifier may be segmented to provide a tailored longitudinal injection current distribution.

A semiconductor laser device includes a first conductivity type cladding layer having a refractive index n.sub.c1, a first conductivity type side optical guide layer, an active layer, a second conductivity type side optical guide layer, and a second conductivity type cladding layer of n.sub.c2 laminated in order on a first conductivity type semiconductor substrate, wherein an oscillation wavelength is λ, a first conductivity type low refractive index layer of n.sub.1 lower than n.sub.c1 having a thickness of d.sub.1 is provided between the first conductivity type side optical guide layer and the first conductivity type cladding layer, a second conductivity type low refractive index layer of n.sub.2 lower than n.sub.c2 having a thickness of d.sub.2 is provided between the second conductivity type side optical guide layer and the second conductivity type cladding layer, and a condition of a normalization frequency v.sub.2>v.sub.1 is satisfied.

A QCL may include a substrate, an emitting facet, and semiconductor layers adjacent the substrate and defining an active region. The active region may have a longitudinal axis canted at an oblique angle to the emitting facet of the substrate. The QCL may include an optical grating being adjacent the active region and configured to emit one of a CW laser output or a pulsed laser output through the emitting facet of substrate.

In an embodiment a semiconductor laser diode includes a semiconductor layer sequence comprising an active layer having a main extension plane, the semiconductor layer sequence configured to generate light in an active region and radiate the light via a light-outcoupling surface, wherein the active region extends from a rear surface opposite the light-outcoupling surface to the light-outcoupling surface along a longitudinal direction in the main extension plane and a continuous contact structure directly disposed on a surface of the semiconductor layer sequence, wherein the contact structure comprises in at least a first contact region a first electrical contact material in direct contact with the surface region and in at least a second contact region a second electrical contact material in direct contact with the surface region, wherein the first and second contact regions adjoin one another.