Inhomogeneous pumping and increased filamentation threshold of semiconductor lasers by contact profiling

The authors have fabricated inhomogeneously pumped broad area diode lasers using a novel digitated electrical contact pad to smooth the edges of the transverse distribution of injected carriers. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this scheme in increasing the filamentation threshold and reducing near field modulation up to 35 times threshold. The inhomogeneously pumped design has reduced threshold current and increased slope efficiency relative to a comparable standard broad area device.