Hot-cavity modelling of high-power tapered laser diodes using wide-angle 3D FD-BPM

The effective design of high power tapered laser diodes requires a detailed understanding of the coupled nonlinear optical, electrical and thermal processes which take place in the cavity. These nonlinearities result in phenomena such as spatial hole burning, self-focussing and filamentation, all of which play a significant role at higher output powers. Consequently, care must be taken in optimising the design of these devices to maximise the output power whilst maintaining good beam quality. Simulation gives the device designer the ability to experiment with the numerous degrees of freedom available in the design of these laser diodes, thus minimising the expense and time incurred for fabrication.