Claims
- 1. A phase-locked laser array comprising:
- a body of semiconductor material having first and second reflecting surfaces, at least one of which is partially transparent at the laser wavelength;
- said body including:
- a substrate having first and second opposed major surfaces;
- first and second spaced-apart pluralities of channels with lands therebetween extending a distance into said substrate from said first major surface with each of said pluralities extending toward a different reflecting surface of said body, the axes of symmetry of the channels of the two pluralities being offset from one another in the lateral direction;
- a first clad region overlying said channels and said lands;
- a cavity region overlying said first clad region;
- a second clad region overlying said cavity region; and
- means for electrically contacting said body;
- wherein the channels of each plurality are spaced an effective distance apart such that the optical fields in the cavity region over adjacent channels are coupled to one another.
- 2. The array of claim 1 wherein said pluralities are spaced apart by a transition region extending transverse to the axes of symmetry of the channels.
- 3. The array of claim 2 wherein said transition region comprises a channel extending a distance into said substrate from said first major surface.
- 4. The array of claim 3 wherein the axes of symmetry of the channels of said first plurality bisect the lands between the channels of said second plurality.
- 5. The array of claim 2 wherein said transition region comprises a flat portion of said first major surface.
- 6. The array of claim 5 wherein the axes of symmetry of the channels of said first plurality bisect the lands between the channels of said second plurality.
- 7. The array of claim 2 wherein said means for electrically contacting said body includes a first electrical contact overlying said second clad region over said channels.
- 8. The array of claim 7 wherein said first contact comprises a first subcontact overlying said second clad region over said first plurality and a second subcontact, spaced apart from said first subcontact, overlying said second clad region over said second plurality and said flat portion.
- 9. The array of claim 2 wherein said means for electrically contacting said body includes a first electrical contact overlying said second clad region over said channels.
- 10. The array of claim 9 wherein said first contact comprises a first subcontact overlying said second clad region of said first plurality and a second subcontact, spaced apart from said first subcontact, overlying said second clad region over said second plurality.
- 11. The array of claim 10 wherein the axes of symmetry of the channels of said first plurality bisect the lands between the channels of said second plurality.
Government Interests
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under NASA Contract No. NAS 1-17441 and is subject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (72 Stat. 435; 42 U.S.C. 2457).
US Referenced Citations (7)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Butler et al., Applied Physics Letters 44, 293 (1984). |
Welch et al., Electronics Letters 21, 603 (1985). |