Reliable operation of 785 nm DFB diode lasers for rapid Raman spectroscopy

Experimental results on RW and BA DFB lasers emitting at 785 nm suitable for Raman spectroscopy are presented. Optical spectra of the RW DFB laser reveal single mode operation with a side-mode suppression ratio of more than 45 dB at optical output powers up to 163 mW. A reliable operation of more than 8800 h of these devices is demonstrated. Within a spectral width of 0.6 nm, more than 99.9% of 1.1 W optical power of the BA DFB laser emitting at 785 nm are included. Raman measurements with RW and BA DFB lasers as excitation light sources and polystyrene as a test sample are presented. At an output power of 1.1 W of the BA device the integration time for the Raman measurement could be reduced to 50 ms.