Effect of pumping level on the uniformity of the power and spectrum distributions over the emitting aperture of cw laser diode bars

Thermal parameters of cw laser diode bars (LDBs) have been studied experimentally and using 3D simulation in order to identify factors limiting their output power and operational life. Using a thermal camera, we have obtained thermal field images of 47-cluster LDBs with an aperture fill factor of 50%, packaged in a heat spreader of the C–S mount type. Distributions of the output power and emission spectrum of the emitting clusters have been measured by a probing method. The simulation results and experimental data have been analysed, compared and discussed.