Improved coupling efficiency of a strained InGaAs-AlGaAs quantum-well laser into a fiber Bragg grating

We describe a highly efficient coupling of up to 78% into a single mode fiber (SMF) by utilizing a low-divergence-angle InGaAs-AlGaAs laser and a new high-NA aspheric lens, resulting in the coupled optical output of over 300 mW with a kink-free performance. The kink-free 300 mW of fiber-coupled power is the largest power reported from a diode laser wavelength stabilized using a fiber Bragg grating. A 3% fiber Bragg grating makes the optical output stabilize at a wavelength of 1.016 /spl mu/m for an optical output power up to 310 mW and without any distinct decrease of the optical output. The coupling tolerance for lateral offsets is improved by utilizing a thermal-diffused expanded-core technique even in the case of using a high-NA coupling aspheric lens. We have also achieved a 300-mW fiber-coupled wavelength-stabilized InGaAs-AlGaAs semiconductor laser butterfly module using a fiber Bragg grating.