Abstract
High power diode lasers become more and more important, not only as a pumping source for disc and fiber type solid state lasers, but also in direct use e.g. for materials processing, for medical applications and for display technology. Against the background of all these applications increase of brilliance, i.e. enhancement of power and improvement of beam quality and for technical and economic reasons at the same time extension of lifetime and raise of power conversion efficiency are the major goals in activities in research facilities all over the world. Re¬cognizing the importance of optical technologies in general for the German economy a special funding program "Optical Technologies - made in Germany" has been launched by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in 2002. In frame of this program technology and applications of diode lasers are intensively studied in the BRIOLAS-initiative.
