One dimensional scaling of 100 ridge waveguide amplifiers

We have demonstrated the concept of scaling large numbers of laser diodes to achieve high power with good beam quality. We have achieved a system based on scaling 100 ridge waveguide amplifiers with a coherent optical signal distribution network and phase modulators on a 12.2 mm/spl times/4.4 mm chip called a unit cell. The unit cell delivers 1.63 W of CW power in the central lobe with diffraction-limited performance. A high performance cooler allows high power CW performance. A custom lens array and computer-controlled phase modulators allow the beam to be collimated with flat phase front.>