Curved stripe GaAs : GaAlAs diode lasers and waveguides

We report room-temperature operation of GaAs : GaAlAs double-heterostructure lasers with curved stripes. The power-output–vs–current curves are linear and free of kinks up to substantial levels. The lasers do not exhibit relaxation oscillations under pulsed operation and have stable near- and far-field patterns. A cleaved laser with a 10-μm-wide stripe containing a 1-mm-radius curve did not exhibit a kink until more than 100-mW/facet output power was obtained under pulsed operation. Lasers of this geometry should prove useful for waveguide coupling in integrated optics and as a discrete source for fiber-optic applications.