Technology Trend and Challenges in High Power Semiconductor Laser Packaging

Summary form only given. High power semiconductor lasers have found significant applications in industrial, military, commercial and consumer products. Driven by low cost and new applications, the demand for higher output power has been accelerated. In tins presentation. I will review and discuss the technology development trend of high power semiconductor lasers, including single emitters, bars, horizontal bar arrays and vertical bar stacks. A state-of- the-art single-emitter laser can generate a CW optical power of 15-20W from a 100 m wide stripe and 2mm long cavity and has a heat flux up to 2000 W/cm². A state-of- the-art vertical laser bar stack can generate an optical power of 1000W and has a heat density of up to 120W/cm³. Thermal management has thus become one of the major obstacles in high power laser development. The ever- increasing power also requires new advanced package and module design as well as innovative process design and development. The major challenges and issues in high power laser packaging will be discussed. Finally some approaches and strategies to address the challenges and issues in high power laser packaging will be presented and some research results on manufacturing process, thermal management, facet damage control, thermal induced failure mechanisms in high power lasers will be reported.