Based on its semiconductor laser technology, BrightLase, QPC Lasers (Sylmar, CA) has demonstrated a green laser targeted at potential display applications including mobile-phone projectors, rear-projection televisions, and cockpit displays, all of which require high-speed direct modulation, low power consumption, and low cost in high-volume production. This green laser design can be adapted to generate other visible colors such as red and blue, according to the company.
The green laser is based on frequency doubling the output of the high-power BrightLase 1064 nm single-mode device (which has an 8 W power output) using a periodically poled lithium niobate frequency-doubling crystal. BrightLase is a 1064 nm single-mode two-section oscillator-amplifier device consisting of a narrow waveguide section and a tapered gain section. The beam in the narrow waveguide distributed-feedback section is laterally confined by a single-mode waveguide that produces a stable single-frequency beam. The buried-heterostructure single-mode waveguide acts as a mode filter. This beam is fed into the tapered gain section, where the beam is amplified as it freely diffracts. Contact Paul Rudy at [email protected].