0.8 W optically pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser operating CW at 1550 nm

An InP based optically pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser has been designed and optimised for emission at 1,550 nm. To overcome thermal limitations, an intra-cavity synthetic diamond heatspreader is bonded to the gain structure. The laser produces 780 mW at -30 degrees Celsius and 100 mW at 20 degrees Celsius in a near Gaussian beam (M^sup 2^ < 1.2).