Patent ID: 7065107

Claim:
A spectral beam combining (SBC) optical system comprising: a broad-stripe laser diode; an external resonator cavity comprising: a mirror located adjacent to a first facet of said broad-stripe laser diode; and an output coupler, wherein emissions from a second facet of said broad-stripe laser diode are incident on said output coupler, said output coupler outputting a single output beam; a dispersive element interposed between said broad-stripe laser diode and said output coupler, said dispersive element reflecting a portion of said emissions back into said broad-stripe laser diode; a collimating optical system interposed between said broad-stripe laser diode and said dispersive element, said collimating optical system spatially overlapping emissions from said broad-stripe laser diode onto said dispersive element; a spatial filter interposed between said dispersive element and said output coupler, wherein said spatial filter comprises an aperture; and means for creating a plurality of pseudo emitters across said second facet of said broad-stripe laser diode with a corresponding lateral spacing between adjacent pseudo emitters, said means located within said external cavity, wherein said means generates wavelength-periodic variations in transmission or reflectivity, and wherein an aperture width associated with said aperture forms an image at said second facet of said broad-stripe laser diode less than twice said lateral spacing of adjacent pseudo emitters multiplied by a factor by which the output beam divergence exceeds the diffraction limit.