Semiconductor optical amplifying media with reduced self-focusing

A light amplification medium comprising

• a semiconductor material having a first portion aligned with a second portion in a light path having an overall gain greater than unity, said first portion having a peak filament period that is different than that of said second portion.

A light amplification medium comprising

• a semiconductor material having a light amplifying portion aligned with a light absorbing portion in a light path having a gain greater than unity, said light amplifying portion characterized by an antiguiding factor of smaller magnitude than that of said light absorbing portion, wherein said antiguiding factor is a ratio of change in index of refraction per change in gain as a function of carrier density.

A light emitting device comprising

• a semiconductor body having a first portion aligned with a second portion along a light amplification path having a gain greater than unity, said first portion characterized by a positive self-focusing parameter and said second portion characterized by a negative self-focusing parameter, wherein said self-focusing parameter is a ratio of change in index of refraction per change in incident optical power, and
• means for pumping said semiconductor body.

A semiconductor light emitting device comprising

• an active region having means for amplifying light propagating along a length of said active region for emission in a forward direction, said active region having a width dimension that is, for at least part of the length of the active region, more than ten times greater than a wavelength of said light, said active region also having means for suppressing the filamentation growth rate of said light in said active region,
• cladding regions sandwiching said active region and having a lower refractive index for guiding said light within said active region,
• means for pumping said active region.

A method for making a high power semiconductor light emitting device comprising

• forming an active region bounded by cladding regions,
• reducing a growth rate of any filaments in said active region, including reducing a self-focusing parameter of said active region, wherein said self-focusing parameter is a ratio of change in index of refraction per change in incident optical power.

A semiconductor light emitting device, comprising:

• an active region having means for amplifying light propagating along a length of the active region, the active region having, for at least a portion of the length thereof, a width capable of supporting multimode propagation of the light therein, and
• means for suppressing optical filament growth in the multimode portion of the active region through a reduction of its antiguiding (.alpha.) factor, wherein the antiguiding factor characterizing any particular portion of the active region is defined as a ratio of change in index of refraction per change in gain as a function of carrier density.

A semiconductor light emitting device, comprising:

• an active region having means for amplifying light propagating along a length of the active region, wherein one portion of the active region is wider than another portion thereof, and
• means for suppressing optical filament growth in the active region through a reduction of its antiguiding (.alpha.) factor, wherein the antiguiding factor characterizing any particular portion of the active region is defined as a ratio of change in index of refraction per change in gain as a function of carrier density.