Stability of ZnSe-passivated laser facets cleaved in air and in ultra-high vacuum

Catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD) is one of the main failure mechanisms limiting reliability GaAs based laser diodes. Here, we compare facet stability ZnSe-passivated ridge-waveguide lasers (RWLs) that are cleaved in air and subsequently cleaned using atomic hydrogen with RWLs ultra-high vacuum. vacuum show a superior performance reach power densities up to 58 MW/cm2 under extended continuous wave operation at 1064 nm. This attributed reduction defects interface between ZnSe as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy x-ray diffraction.