2-Chip Module Boasts High Power, High Brightness

SemiNex introducing new laser package at Photonics West

Peabody, Mass. – February 9, 2015- SemiNex Corporation continues to expand its packaged product line featuring SemiNex high-power laser diodes with the 2CM, a two-chip laser module that outputs up to 8 Watts of CW power in a single core fiber.

For over a decade, leading laser companies – including SemiNex – have offered multi-chip laser products which output high power through bundled fiber pigtails. In some applications, these bundles were fusion spliced into a single core fiber for high brightness. In other applications, laser bars were coupled directly into fibers using complex optical benches. While these approaches achieved the desired results, significant energy was lost and the modules were expensive. The 2CM (2 Chip Module) is the ideal solution for applications requiring high brightness, high power and high conversion efficiency from a small form-factor laser.

Dr. John Callahan, SemiNex’s vice president of engineering, explained: “The 2CM fills the niche between SemiNex’s industry-leading, single element, 4-Pin lasers and SemiNex’s high power MCM lasers.”

Unlike SemiNex’s multi-chip modules (MCMs), the beams of the chips in the 2CM are combined into one fiber, not into a fiber bundle. The 2CM also a fraction of the size of the MCM, housed in a package measuring 52mm by 35mm.

The off-the-shelf version of the 2CM features an “eye-safe” 1470 nanometer (nm) wavelength; 0.22 NA, 200µm fiber with an SMA 905 connector; as well as a red aiming beam and a thermistor. The product can be designed to emit custom wavelengths at 1310, 1532, 1550, and 1625nm, as well.

“The 2CM is unique to the industry,” offered Neal Stoker, vice president of sales and marketing at SemiNex. “It is the only laser module we know of that has this size footprint and can produce up to 8 Watts of power in the SWIR (short wave infrared) spectrum.” The standard 1470 nm laser diode is ideal for several medical and dermatological applications, such as surgical treatment of varicose veins. The 2CM is also available at 1490, 1560 and 1570 nm. Applications requiring these wavelengths may also benefit from the increased power and small footprint of the 2CM.