Technology trend and challenges in high power semiconductor laser packaging

High power semiconductor lasers have found increased applications in pumping of solid state laser systems for industrial, military and medical applications as well as direct material processing applications such as welding, cutting, and surface treatment. Driven by low cost, longer lifetime and new applications, the requirements of high power semiconductor lasers have been changed and the demand for new products has been accelerated in recent years. As a result, the packaging technologies of high power semiconductor lasers have been highly developed and have become more sophisticated. In this paper, we review and discuss the technology development trend of high power semiconductor lasers, including single emitters, bars, horizontal bar arrays and vertical bar stacks. However, the packaging technology is still one of the bottlenecks of the advancement of high power semiconductor lasers. We will discuss the challenges and issues in high power laser packaging and some approaches and strategies in addressing the challenges and issues will be presented.