Progress in the development of visible laser diodes (VLDs) was reported on several fronts at the IEEE Laser and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS) 1994 Annual Meeting (Oct. 31-Nov. 3, Boston, MA). Invited papers by researchers from Sanyo (Osaka, Japan), Philips (Eindhoven, Netherlands), and NEC (Ibaraki, Japan) all addressed aspects of improving the high-temperature reliability and longevity of AlGaIn¥visible lasers. Although existing VLDs are established in such applications as laser pointers and barcode scanning, demand is increasing for devices rated for more demanding applications including, for example, high-density optical disks and plastic-fiber communications. These typically require that the devices operate at higher temperatures (50°C-70°C) with low threshold currents and short (630-nm) wavelengths.
Silicon wafer holds buried optical waveguide