Abstract

By utilizing wavelength-activated dyes, a color image may be created without exposure to visible light. This is of interest for both color photography and color printing. The need for multiple optical sources with distinct wavelengths has generally dictated discrete components, requiring complicated lensing schemes to coordinate the physical location of the colors in the image. Although commercial high-performance single-mode laser diodes are available with operating wavelengths between both 0.78–.86 μm¹ and 0.86–1.1 μm², a much simpler solution is to have the multiple wavelength sources sufficiently close together so that all the optical sources can share a common lens system. In this work, the operation of a monolithic, addressable three-wavelength laser diode chip is described.

© 1992 Optical Society of America