Abstract

Obtaining a single-lobe diffraction-limited output beam from a steerable laser has interested scientists for many years. Monolithic beam steering in semiconductor lasers has potential for high-speed operation while being compact, low cost and mechanically stable.^1-4 Recently we reported a fan-structure semiconductor-laser array with a quasi-continuous far-field tuning angle of 80° and 11 resolvable spots. We believe that these characteristics represent, respectively, the widest tuning angle and largest number of far-field spots ever demonstrated in a semiconductor laser device. In this paper we show that beam steering from the fan laser array is independent of drive current and that, to external optics, all beams appear to originate from a common aperture.

© 1995 Optical Society of America