Missatge de l'editor: "This paper was published in Optics letters and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/ol/abstract.cfm?uri=ol-37-24-5253. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law."

We propose and analyze a beam-shaping mechanism that in broad-area semiconductor amplifiers occurs due to spatial pump modulation on a micrometer scale. The study, performed under realistic parameters and conditions, predicts a spatial (angular) filtering of the radiation, which leads to a substantial improvement of the spatial quality of the beam during amplification. Quantitative analysis of spatial filtering performance is presented based on numerical integration of the paraxial propagation model and on analytical estimations.

Peer Reviewed