Temporal behavior of resonant-optical-waveguide phase-locked diode laser arrays

Measurements of the temporal and spatial behavior of resonant optical waveguide (ROW) laser arrays with significant interelement loss reveal the presence of sustained self-pulsations in the output intensity of the laser. The mechanism responsible for pulsations is believed to be saturable absorption arising from the presence of absorbers in the interelement regions. This is experimentally confirmed in that reduction or elimination of the interelement loss suppresses the pulsations. Quiescent behavior is obtained to at least 0.45 W continuous wave power and 3.4 times threshold in near-diffraction-limited beams from devices with negligible interelement loss.