VECSEL Pump Laser Alignment on Single Heat Sink
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional VECSELs require additional heat sinks and complex alignment processes for pump lasers and laser chips, leading to increased size, manufacturing complexity, and cost, making mass production difficult.
Innovation Solution
Integrating the pump laser and laser chip on a single heat sink with a concave spherical mirror and TEC for precise alignment, reducing the need for separate heat sinks and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If pump lasers and laser chips are mounted on separate heat sinks, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple heat sinks into a single integrated heat sink structure that cools both the pump laser and the laser chip. This merging approach reduces the number of separate cooling components while maintaining effective heat dissipation for both laser elements, thereby reducing device complexity without sacrificing cooling performance.
2Manufacturing precision
If additional alignment processes are implemented for pump lasers and laser chips, then manufacturing precision is improved, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates alignment marks and positioning structures directly into the heat sink design during the manufacturing process. This preliminary action ensures that pump lasers and laser chips can be accurately positioned without requiring complex post-manufacturing alignment procedures, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while significantly improving production efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If pump lasers are positioned at angles to the laser chip, then optical path flexibility is improved, but device complexity and alignment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the heat sink with integrated positioning features that accommodate standard angular configurations of pump lasers. This universal design approach allows the same heat sink structure to handle various optical path requirements without requiring custom alignment procedures, thereby maintaining optical flexibility while reducing alignment complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for a smaller, more cost-effective VECSEL with reduced optical loss and aberration, enabling mass production by eliminating the need for additional alignment processes and heat sinks, while maintaining high emission power.
Implementation Method 1
The heat sink cools the laser chip 10 by dissipating heat generated from the laser chip 10
Implementation Method 2
a concave spherical mirror and TEC for precise alignment, reducing the need for separate heat sinks and simplifying the manufacturing process
Data Source
AI summary
A vertical external cavity surface emitting laser is provided that is integrally mounted on a single heat sink together with a pump laser. In the surface emitting laser, a laser chip has a gain structure to emit light at a predetermined wavelength and it is disposed on a center portion of a top surface of a heat sink, an external mirror is spaced apart from the laser chip at a predetermined distance to transmit a portion of the light emitted from the laser chip to an outside and to reflect the remaining portion of the light to the laser chip, a pump laser is disposed on one side of a top surface of the heat sink to emit pump light in a horizontal direction for activating the laser chip, and a reflection mirror is disposed on the other side of the top surface of the heat sink opposite to the pump laser to reflect the pump light emitted from the pump laser to the laser chip.