Transition from amplified spontaneous emission to laser action in strongly scattering media

In an active random medium, the combination of multiple scattering with light amplification may lead to random laser action. However, it is crucial but sometimes difficult to distinguish between amplified spontaneous emission and lasing. By varying the amount of scattering in an amplifying random medium, we have observed the transition from amplified spontaneous emission to lasing with coherent feedback. We have found out when the transition occurs through the measurement of the scattering mean free path. Our numerical simulation based on the direct solution to Maxwell equations clearly illustrates the transition from light amplification to laser oscillation due to an increase of the amount of scattering in active random medium.     

Statistics of random lasing modes in weakly scattering systems

We investigated the statistics of random lasing modes in colloidal solutions with local pumping. The ensemble-averaged spectral correlation function of single-shot emission spectra exhibits regular oscillations. The statistical distribution of laser emission intensity follows a power-law decay, in comparison with an exponential decay of the statistical distribution of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) intensity. The dramatic difference between the statistics of lasing peaks and that of the stochastic ASE spikes illustrates their distinct mechanisms.     

Lasing wavelength dependence of gain-clamped EDFA performance with different optical feedback schemes

Performance of gain-clamped erbium-doped fibre amplifier with different optical feedback schemes has been studied as a function of lasing wavelength. An inverse relation of the signal gains with the amplified spontaneous emission spectrum is observed for the entire laser tuning range as a result of the population variation caused by the different strength of the oscillating laser. The noise figure also shows a feature of the lasing wavelength dependence. However, co-feedback scheme exhibits behaviour opposite to that of the counter-feedback.     

Incorporation of a fiber Bragg grating to improve the efficiency of a 1580-nm-band tunable fiber ring laser

An efficient and tunable 1580-nm-band erbium-doped fiber ring laser is achieved by injection of amplified spontaneous emission in a conventional band by a fiber Bragg grating into the gain medium. The insertion of the fiber Bragg grating reduces the lasing threshold to 25%. The tuning range is 1560-1610 nm; the side-mode suppression ratio is better than 65 dB.     

Amplified spontaneous emission in neat films of arylene-vinylene polymers

Amplified spontaneous emission (travelling-wave lasing) was achieved for a set of 18 poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (MEH-PPV) related arylene-vinylene copolymers, a part of which substituted with additional phenyl groups at the vinyl double bond. Wave-guiding neat thin films on glass substrates were used. The samples were transversally pumped with single second harmonic pulses of a mode-locked ruby laser (wavelength 347.15 nm). Travelling-wave emission occurred in the wavelength region between 485 and 650 nm. Repeat unit based absorption cross-section spectra, normalized fluorescence quantum distributions, and amplified spontaneous emission spectra are presented. Ground-state absorption cross-sections at the wavelengths of peak amplified emission are extracted from effective gain length measurements. Effective stimulated emission cross-sections are derived from pump pulse energy densities necessary for optical narrowing.     

LDS dye-doped zirconia-organically modified silicate distributed feedback planar waveguide lasers

LDS dye-doped pure zirconia and zirconia-organically modified silicate (ORMOSIL) thin film waveguides were prepared on glass substrates by a low-temperature sol–gel technique. The absorption, fluorescence and amplified spontaneous emission properties of the waveguides were investigated. Near infrared distributed feedback laser action was induced in the LDS dye-doped zirconia-ORMOSIL waveguides. Tunable narrow linewidth lasing output from 670 up to 930 nm in a transmission grating geometry was realized in the zirconia-ORMOSIL films.     

Two-photon-pumped amplified spontaneous emission and cavity lasing of an organic dye HEASPS in PHEMA polymer

Two-photon-absorption (TPA)-induced upconverted amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and cavity lasing of a styrylpyridinium dye: trans-4-[p-(N-hydroxyethyl-N-ethylamino)styryl]-N-methylpyridinium p-toluene sulfonate (abbreviated as HEASPS) in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (abbreviated as PHEMA) polymer were observed under a picosecond pump condition. The spectral and temporal behaviors of TPA-induced fluorescence, ASE and cavity lasing were studied. The cavity lasing with a total oscillation time of more than 200 ps was achieved when pumped with 1064-nm, 50-ps laser irradiation. The population inversion could persist for three times longer than the duration of the pump pulse. The gain coefficients of the dye-doped polymer at various wavelengths were calculated based on cavity lasing spectra and one-photon fluorescence spectra. PACS 78.20.Ek; 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Re; 78.47.+p     

Pulsed pumped Yb-doped fiber amplifier at low repetition rate

A pulsed pumped Yb-doped double-clad fiber (DCF) master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) at low repetition rate is reported. Seeded by a passive Q-switched Nd:YAG microchip laser, the fiber amplifier can generate 167-kW peak-power and 0.83-ns duration pulses at 200-Hz repetition rate. Because of the pulsed pump approach, the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and the spurious lasing between pulses are well avoided, and the repetition rate can be set freely from single-shot to 1 kHz. Peak power scaling limitations that arise from the fiber facet damage are discussed.     

Amplified spontaneous emission from nitrogen laser pumped dye lasers

The nitrogen laser pumped dye laser output has been studied with emphasis on the behaviour of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) with respect to the tuning wavelength, pump energy, dyes and their concentration and solvents. Spectral spread of ASE is narrower than fluorescence and its maximum is shifted towards the red side. However, lasing occurs beyond the ASE region. ASE is small at high gain wavelength and increases at the edges of the gain curve. Laser energy is highest at the ASE peak with minimum ASE present in the output. ASE is reduced with increased laser energy in the energy transfer dye lasers.     

光子晶体晶粒尺寸和排列结构对随机激光辐射特性的影响

研究了光子晶体对随机激光器的输出特性的调控,并分析了光子晶体的晶粒尺寸和排列结构等对调控作用的影响.对于同一随机介质而言,上下表面用同种材料不同晶粒尺寸的光子晶体覆盖,结果显示:晶粒尺寸合适的光子晶体会使光在系统中来回振荡从而得到很好的放大,使系统中的光与随机增益介质的相互作用加强,激光阈值降低;同时还对激光模式有较强的调制能力,能在一定程度上抑制自发辐射,使之向所需要的频率内辐射.但如果光子晶体的晶粒尺寸与随机增益介质结构匹配不当,则光子晶体对激光模式调制能力较弱,光场能量不能有效地被局域在系统中,系统 关键词： 有限时域差分法 光子晶体 随机激光 辐射特性     

Effect of spontaneous frequency fluctuations on the emission line of a semiconductor laser with pseudorandom modulation of the pump current

The effect of random frequency fluctuations due to spontaneous emission and generation-recombination noise on the shape of the emission line of a semiconductor laser with pseudorandom modulation of the pump current is studied numerically. The roles of spontaneous emission and chirp modulation in forming the lasing spectrum are separated out. The dependence of the output spectral characteristics of the laser on the parameters and type of modulation is analyzed.     

Controlling spontaneous emission and threshold-less laser oscillation with optical microcavities

We describe the alteration of spontaneous emission of materials in optical microcavities having dimensions on the order of the emitted wavelength. Particular attention is paid to one-dimensional optical confinement structures with pairs of planar reflectors (planar microcavities). The presence of the cavity causes great modifications in the emission spectrum and spatial emission intensity distribution accompanied by changes in the spontaneous emission lifetime. Experimental results are shown for planar microcavities containing GaAs quantum wells or organic dye-embedded Langmuir-Brodgett films as light emitting layers. Also discussed are the laser oscillation properties of microcavities. A remarkable increase in the spontaneous emission coupling into the laser oscillation mode is expected in microcavity lasers. A rate equation analysis shows that increasing the coupling of spontaneous emission into the cavity mode causes the disappearance of the lasing threshold in the input-output curve. Experimentally verification is presented using planar optical microcavities confining an organic dye solution. The coupling ratio of spontaneous emission into a laser mode increases to be as large as 0.2 for a cavity having a half wavelength distance between a pair of mirrors. At this point, the threshold becomes quite fuzzy. Differences between the spontaneous emission dominant regime and the stimulated emission dominant regime are examined with emission spectra and emission lifetime analyses.     

基于TiO_2纳米粒子薄膜的低阈值随机激光器的动力学研究

本文利用共轭聚合物(MEH-PPV)覆盖TiO_2纳米粒子薄膜制作随机激光器。随机TiO_2纳米粒子薄膜的激光辐射阈值比平面MEH-PPV薄膜的放大自发辐射阈值缩小了9倍。这是由于TiO_2纳米粒子诱导的多重散射造成的。进一步的飞秒荧光上转换实验表明,随机激光器中,光在增益介质里的停留时间有所增加,这直接证实了光在随机激光器结构中的多重散射引起光的传播路径增加。因此,这会促进更多的光发生辐射,从而降低随机激光器的阈值。     

Fluorescence and amplified spontaneous emission of glass forming compounds containing styryl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene fragment

Potential of glassy films of newly synthesised low molecular weight organic molecules for light amplification and lasing applications has been investigated by analysing fluorescence, transient differential absorption and amplified spontaneous emission properties. These non-symmetric and symmetric molecules contain styryl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene fragment with three different electron acceptor groups: dicyanomethylene, barbituric acid, indene-1,3-dione. Fluorescence quantum yields of the investigated compounds in solutions are between 0.32 and 0.54, while they drop down by an order of magnitude in thin solid films. Incorporation of bulky side groups reduced excitonic interactions enabling manifestation of amplified spontaneous emission in the neat films of the investigated derivatives.     

Widely tunable amplified spontaneous emission of Pyrromethene-650-doped nematic liquid crystal

We study amplified spontaneous emission of Pyrromethene-650-doped nematic liquid crystal deposited onto quartz and glass substrates. We prepare samples with different dye-doped concentrations pumped with a Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. With an applied electric field, a tuning range of the amplified spontaneous emission of more than 20 nm was realized in each sample due to changing the effective refractive index of the nematic-liquid-crystal layer caused by the reorientation of nematic-liquid-crystal molecules. We show that there exist a threshold voltage and a saturation voltage for all the samples. With the increase in the dye-doped concentration, the peak wavelength of the amplified spontaneous emission has a red shift of about several nanometers.     

Experimente und Modellrechnungen zur Emission im UV-Stickstofflaser

Experiments and Model Calculations on the Emission in the UV-nitrogen Laser Experiments are described which deal with emission in nitrogen lasers. The experimental results have been discussed with known models of emission. The influence of plasma on the radiation has been considered. With the model of amplified spontaneous emission the measured starting point of the beam, and the divergence of the stimulated radiation field could be described. The discrepancy between measured laser pulse energy as a function of laser length and calculation has been interpreted as the influence of decreased group velocity of laser pulse in the non-saturated laser medium. Radiation with small divergence and relatively high power has been generated with a telescope between laser tube and mirror.     

Threshold characteristics of microcavity semiconductor lasers

The influence of spontaneous emission coupling on the threshold characteristics of microcavity semiconductor lasers is studied using explicit algebraic expressions for the pump rate dependence of photon and carrier numbers. It is shown that fractional spontaneous emission coupling in practical microcavity laser structures imposes limitations on thresholdless lasing operation.     

Comparison of high-energy multi-pass Ti:sapphire amplifiers with a different Ti-dopant concentration

We experimentally compare the output abilities of lightly and heavily doped Ti:Sapphire(Ti:S) amplifiers with diameters as large as 150 mm. Although a lightly doped Ti:S is more favorable to overcome parasitic lasing(PL)and transverse amplified spontaneous emission(TASE), the self-phase-modulation(SPM) effect becomes more pronounced when a longer crystal is used. Recompression of the amplified, stretched pulses can be seriously affected by the SPM effect. We then propose a temporal multi-pulse pump scheme to suppress PL and TASE in a thin, heavily doped Ti:S crystal. This novel temporal multi-pulse pump technique can find potential applications in 10 PW chirped-pulse amplification laser systems.     

Effect of pump power on the tuning range of a filterless erbium-doped fiber ring laser

In this paper, we establish the influence of pump power on the tuning characteristics of a filterless erbium-doped fiber laser, operating in the L band. Tunable action is achieved with the control of intra cavity loss. The explicit dependence of tunability on the average inversion levels is brought out. The shift in the lower limit of tuning range and the non-linear dependence of lasing wavelength on the intra cavity loss are analytically deduced using the gain spectra and experimentally interpreted using amplified spontaneous emission spectra. Continuous tunability is achieved with the careful control of pump power. PACS 42.55.Wb; 42.60.Da; 42.55.-f     

轴向隐失波激励的回音壁模式光纤激光器

采用轴向隐失波激励增益的方式,使激光增益区域局限在光纤回音壁模式的模场区域内,显著地降低了回音壁模式光纤激光辐射的抽运阈值,由此形成一种低阈值的回音壁模式光纤激光器.在微焦耳量级的低抽运能量条件下,用回音壁模式光纤激光器研究了激光染料的浓度效应.实验结果表明,随着激光染料浓度的增加,回音壁模式激光辐射的波长向长波方向移动,激光波长范围变宽.用回音壁模式染料激光的四能级模型得到激光上能级和所有能级上的分子数比值γ(λ)曲线后,很好地解释了实验结果.低抽运阈值的回音壁模式光纤激光器,为研究液体激光现象提供了极为便利的手段.