Semiconductor laser

0900202-187

[DEFINITION]
A laser that uses semiconductors as the medium of laser emission.

[DESCRIPTION]
The population inversion is initiated by forward biasing on PN junction diode, and then electrons and holes join each other spontaneously with coherent light emission. These devices are mainly fabricated with Ga and As. Semiconductor lasers are more compact and efficient , and emit coherent light more steadily than other type of gas lasers. So far they have been used as light sources for optical telecommunications, micro-optical scanners, and micro-optical encoders. Semiconductor lasers are also used as optical energy sources to supply energy to micromachines without contact. The integration of optics and micro-component is progressing through micromachining technology.

[References]
(49)(50)

[Related Terms]
Micromechano-optics