Surface-emitting laser array, laser apparatus, ignition device and internal combustion engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10498108-B2
Application number	US-201615551955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 8, 2016
Priority date	Mar 16, 2015
Publication date	Dec 3, 2019
Grant date	Dec 3, 2019

Abstract

A surface-emitting laser array includes a plurality of light emitting parts. Each light emitting part includes a reflection mirror including aluminum gallium arsenide (Al x Ga (1-x) As) where x is greater than 0.95 but less than or equal to 1; an active layer; and an electrode surrounding an emission region, from which laser light is emitted, the electrode covering a region between adjacent light emitting parts in the plurality of light emitting parts.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A surface-emitting laser array comprising a plurality of light emitting parts, each of the plurality of emitting parts having a structure of a shape of a mesa and including:
a first reflection mirror including aluminum gallium arsenide (Al x Ga (1-x) As) where x is greater than 0.95 but less than or equal to 1;
a second reflection mirror;
an active layer between the first reflection mirror and the second reflection mirror; and
an electrode having a thickness greater than or equal to 2 μm,
wherein the electrodes cover regions between mesas in the plurality of light emitting parts.

2. The surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ,
wherein a height of a top face of the electrode is greater than or equal to a height of the mesa.

3. The surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ,
wherein the reflection mirror includes aluminum arsenide (AlAs).

4. The surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ,
wherein an outermost layer of the region between the adjacent light emitting parts in the plurality of light emitting parts includes indium (In).

5. The surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ,
wherein the reflection mirror is a multi-layered reflection mirror and includes at least one AlAs layer having an optical thickness of (2m+1)λ/4 where an oscillation wavelength of the laser light is λ and m is a natural number.

6. A laser device for irradiating an object with laser light comprising:
the surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ; and
an optical system configured to guide the laser light emitted from the surface-emitting laser array to the object.

7. A laser device comprising:
the surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ;
an optical system configured to condense the laser light emitted from the surface-emitting laser array; and
a transmission member configured to transmit the laser light condensed by the optical system.

8. A laser device comprising:
the surface-emitting laser array according to claim 1 ; and
a laser resonator configured to receive the laser light emitted from the surface-emitting laser array.

9. The laser device according to claim 8 ,
wherein the laser resonator is a Q switch laser.

10. The laser device according to claim 9 ,
wherein the laser resonator includes a laser medium and a saturable absorber.

11. An ignition device comprising:
the laser device according to claim 8 ; and
an optical system configured to condense laser light emitted from the laser device.

12. An internal combustion engine for combusting fuel to generate a combustion gas comprising:
the ignition device for igniting the fuel according to claim 11 .

Assignees

• Izumiya Kazuma
• Jikutani Naoto
• Numata Masayuki
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Izumiya Kazuma
• Jikutani Naoto
• Numata Masayuki

Classifications

• H01S5/34313

  with a well layer having only As as V-compound, e.g. AlGaAs, InGaAs · CPC title

• H01S5/04254

  characterised by the shape · CPC title

• H01S5/04252

  characterised by the material · CPC title

• H01S3/113

  using intracavity saturable absorbers · CPC title

• H01S3/0627

  the resonator being monolithic, e.g. microlaser · CPC title