Coupling external cavity mid-IR quantum cascade lasers with low loss hollow metallic/dielectric waveguides

We report on the optical coupling between hollow core waveguides and external cavity mid-IR quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). Waveguides with 1000???m bore size and lengths ranging from 2 to 14?cm, with metallic (Ag)/dielectric (AgI or polystyrene) circular cross-section internal coatings, have been employed. Our results show that the QCL mode is perfectly matched to the hybrid HE₁₁ waveguide mode, demonstrating that the internal dielectric coating thickness is effective to suppress the higher losses TE-like modes. Optical losses down to 0.44?dB/m at 5.27???m were measured in Ag/polystyrene-coated waveguide with an almost unitary coupling efficiency.     

Design of CW High-Power Discharge-Pumped DCN Laser

This paper describes a CW sub-millimeter waveguide dischargepumped DCN laser operating on 190 and 195 mu m lines. The laser discharge length is 3 m, and the resonator length is 3.4 m. The resonator cavity consists of a pyrex tube of 54 mm diameter and two plane reflectors against its ends, one is a plane mirror, the other is a metal mesh. After optimization of various parameters, such as the N₂:CD₄:He gas mixture, the pressure and the discharge current, the wall temperature and the output couple, this laser delivers 200 and 220mW on the 190 and 195 mu m lines, respectively, for EH₁₁ mode.     

Comparison of magnetoreflection from CoFe-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> multilayer and granular films in the infrared spectral region

The paper reports on a study of light reflection and of the magnetorefractive effect in CoFe-Al₂O₃ multilayer and granular films in the IR region at λ = 2.5–25 μm. These films exhibit a noticeable tunneling magnetoresistance of 5–8%. It has been found that the spectra of the magnetorefractive effect have features at λ ≈ 6.7 and ≈8.1 μm originating from phonon mode excitation in the dielectric matrix. It has been established that the magnitude of the magnetorefractive effect exceeds 2.5% for multilayer films, a value substantially larger than that for granular ones. Magnetoreflection has been analyzed for two film systems with roughly equal tunneling magnetoresistance. It has been shown that magnetoreflection for granular films can be described in a first approximation by the modified Hagen-Rubens relation, while the enhanced effect exhibited by multilayer films requires inclusion of interference of the magnetooptical response.     

A CW DCN waveguide laser of high volumetric efficiency

This paper describes a CW submillimeter waveguide laser operating on 190 and 195 μm DCN lines with high volumetric efficiency. The laser cavity is a 3.2 cm inner diameter, 70 cm long, Pyrex tube with plane reflectors (one of them is a copper mesh) against its ends. After optimization of various parameters (such as the N₂:CD₄:He gas mixture, the pressure and the discharge current, the wall temperature and the output coupling), this laser, with only 57 cm long active discharge, delivers 8.4 and 7.6 mW on the 190 and 195 μm lines, respectively, for the EH₁₁ mode. This represents volumetric powers of 75 and 65 μW cm^-3. The free space propagation of the EH₁₁ fundamental mode was found to be as for a gaussian beam, and the absorption of the laser beam in the atmosphere was also measured.     

MAGICTRAC, a novel method for conversion of whispering-gallery modes into a free-space Gaussian-like beam

A novel device, MAGICTRAC, is described for efficient conversion at millimeter wavelengths of the TE _m,n whispering-gallery mode into a linearly polarized, free-space Gaussian-like beam. MAGICTRAC uses a mode-converting waveguide taper and three mirror optics, one of which incorporates a twist reflector to linearly polarize the output beam. An example design is presented for the TE_15,2 mode at 140 GHz with a calculated efficiency of 96%. Related possible applications include (1) installation of the MAGICTRAC within the vacuum envelope of a gyrotron to separarate the spent e-beam from the generated rf, (2) generation of a whispering-gallery mode by injection of a Gaussian-like beam into the output end, and (3) conversion of TE _m,n modes into TE_0n modes for low-loss transmission in smooth-wall waveguide.Work performed by LLNL for USDOE under contract W-7405 ENG-48.     

On the effect of nonequidistance of dielectric coatings and the groove profile on the energy characteristics of holographic diffraction gratings

The diffraction efficiency and the resistance to radiation damage of gratings with a multilayer dielectric coating, which are used for compression of high-power laser pulses, are studied. The effect of smoothing of the profile of the metallized surface of the grating upon deposition of dielectric coatings on the energy characteristics of the grating at the wavelength λ=1.05 μm is analyzed. Gratings with various profiles of the metallic surface relief and with different contrast of the refractive indices of the dielectrics forming the coating are considered.     

High brightness 735 nm tapered lasers – optimisation of the laser geometry

High brightness tapered laser diodes with different resonator geometries were fabricated and analysed. The devices consist of an index-guided straight section and a gain-guided tapered section. Lasers with a total length L = 2 and 4 mm and different length of the ridge waveguide L _RW (500 μm ≤ L _RW ≤ 1250 μm for L = 2 mm and 500 μm ≤ L _RW ≤ 2000 μm for L = 4 mm) were processed to study the influence of the straight section on the spatial mode filtering. The power–voltage–current-characteristics, the beam waist, the far field, and the beam propagation factor M ² were measured. From the experiments, it can be stated that the lasers with a small L _RW reach higher output powers compared to those with larger L _RW. Concerning the beam quality the length L _RW should exceed a minimal value to guarantee efficient spatial mode filtering. Devices optimised concerning maximum output power and excellent beam quality reach a beam propagation factor smaller than 2.1 at an output power P = 2 W.     

An efficient directional coupling from dielectric waveguide to hybrid long-range plasmonic waveguide on a silicon platform

The silicon-based three-dimensional hybrid long-range plasmonic waveguide not only supports long-range propagation distance (~mm) but also has an ultra-small modal area (~10^?2 μm²) at 1.55 μm. Here, we propose a directional coupler for effective coupling from a dielectric slab-waveguide to the hybrid plasmonic waveguide on a silicon platform. Our simulation results show that the coupler is able to excite hybrid long-range plasmonic mode with short coupling length, low insertion loss, and high extinction ratio. With the arm separation of 0.3 μm, the coupling length can be made 5.2 % of the propagation length of the hybrid plasmonic waveguide, while the insertion loss and extinction ratio are ?0.12 and 22.4 dB, respectively. This coupler offers the potential applications in signal routing between the hybrid long-range plasmonic waveguide and dielectric waveguide in the photonic integrated circuits.     

Effective far infrared laser operation with mesh couplers

In the pursuit of increased far infrared (FIR) laser output power and higher beam quality, we have designed, fabricated and applied hybrid metal mesh couplers. Fourier Transform Spectroscopy was performed to evaluate the spectral characteristics of the couplers. With smallest mesh features of 1.0 μm, these couplers, fabricated in a class 100 clean-room, exhibited remarkably wide bandpass characteristics. Application in an Apollo Model 122 FIR laser system resulted in high output powers on many lines in the 100–500 μm range, with only moderate pump powers (10–60 W). A careful analysis of the FIR laser beam showed undiffracted Gaussian beam profiles with low divergence angles.     

A waveguide CO2 laser operating in a Gaussian mode: Experimental analysis

An experimental analysis of the dielectric waveguide laser modes has been carried out and it has been shown that the maximum power output is related to the EH₁₁ or TEM₀₀ mode oscillation. Gaussian mode operation is discussed and practical consequences of this type of operation are demonstrated.     

Combined Diffraction Grating in the Scheme of Grazing Incidence: Calculation and Parameter Optimization

The method of parameter optimization of combined structures, which consist of a dielectric grating and a metallic or multilayer dielectric mirror, was proposed. It is based on the use of the waveguide properties of the combined diffraction grating. Its main advantage lies in the possibility of determining the optimum parameters of the combined grating without solving the diffraction problem.     

Modeling and analysis of birefringence in magneto-optical thin film made by SiO2/ZrO2 doped with ferrite of cobalt

We report the device characteristics of the metal–dielectric high-reflectivity (HR) coated 1.55 μm laterally coupled distributed feedback (DFB) laser with metal surface gratings by using holographic lithography. The HR coating films are composed of Au/Ti/SiO₂. It provides a variety of advantages compared to the uncoated DFB laser on the same processed wafer while there is no degradation on current–voltage characteristics. For 3 μm wide and 300 μm long HR coated DFB laser, it exhibits a maximum output power of ∼17 mW and a threshold current of 14.2 mA at 20°C under continuous-wave mode. It is clear that the threshold current and slope efficiency are improved by 36% and 96%, respectively, due to the reduction of mirror loss. The metal–dielectric HR coating on one facet of DFB laser is found to have significantly increased characteristic temperature (i.e., T ₀∼88 K). Furthermore, the stable single-mode operation with an increased single-mode suppression ratio was achieved.     

Coupled mode analysis of light modulation in dielectric waveguides

A detailed analysis of electrooptic light modulation in optical waveguides is presented. Several important problems of a waveguide modulator, such as the difference of waveguide axes from crystalline electrooptic ones, the distribution of transverse and longitudinal field components of light modes, and the traveling-wave property of the modulating field, are discussed. The analysis is based on the coupled mode theory, regarding the modulation as the coupling among sidebands of unperturbed waveguide modes. The coupled mode equation is derived for the modulation in optical waveguides. It can be solved if the normal modes of the waveguide are given. Actually the equation is solved for the modulation in dielectric slab waveguides and the mechanism of modulation is discussed. The results of the analysis are applied to designing two types of waveguide modulators. In an example (10.6 μm modulator with a GaAs slab waveguide) a new efficient crystal orientation is found. The calculated phase retardation with this orientation is 0.13 rad/(V·cm) with a 1 μm thick slab. Another example of a 0.633 μm modulator using a LiTaO₃ crystal as a substrate is also described.     

Multilayer resonances sharpened by grating waveguide resonance

A multilayer planar structure comprising a highly reflective multilayer dielectric mirror and a corrugated waveguide is proposed for use as a narrow passband optical filter. The proposed filter has a much narrower linewidth than a usual Fabry–Perot cavity with two multilayer dielectric mirrors. It is shown that the narrowing of the linewidth is due to the strong spectral dependence of the phase of the wave reflected from the waveguide grating mirror. The shape of the pass band can be made symmetrical by a proper choice of the grating groove profile.     

中红外2μm KTA光参量振荡器的输入镜膜层损伤分析

对基于KTA(KTiOAsO4,砷酸钛氧钾)晶体的中红外2μm光参量振荡器的输入镜膜层损伤现象进行了初步分析及对比实验研究,表明薄膜缺陷导致的热效应是造成输入镜膜层损伤、抗损伤阈值低的主要原因,同时发现由于腔镜失调等原因造成的腔内残余1.06μm激光是造成膜层损伤的主要来源,这些结果对改进光参量振荡器系统设计、进一步提高2μm激光输出能量具有一定的指导作用。     

Oscillations at a difference frequency in the middle and far infrareds in GaP semiconductor waveguides

The feasibility of oscillation at a difference frequency in the middle and far infrareds is considered under the condition of phase matching between a nonlinear polarization wave and a difference mode produced by two fundamental modes with a wavelength near 1 μm excited in a GaP dielectric waveguide. With 10-W short-wave modes propagating in a 100-μm-wide planar waveguide, the power of the difference mode can be as high as 300 μW at 1–8 THz at room temperature. When the GaP waveguide leans upon a silicon substrate, the power of the difference mode may reach 5 mW at 10–14 THz at the same temperatures.     

CW efficient optically-pumped far-infrared waveguide NH3 lasers

Significant improvements in both output power and threshold pump power have been obtained by using a small-bore (6- and 12-mm ID) copper waveguide cavity in a CW optically pumped FIR NH₃ laser. Conversion efficiencies of 10–20% the theoretical maximum and volumetric photon-conversion efficiencies 0.1–0.2%/cm³ are obtained for the 81.5-μm line, and threshold pump powers as low as 0.03 W at 81.5 μm and 0.06 W at 263.4 μm are reported. It is shown that both the output and the threshold can be improved by employing a longer waveguide cavity in the 5–160 cm length range. Lasing in a compact waveguide NH₃ lasers is also demonstrated.     

Low-loss large-area GaAs/GaAsP heterostructure as optical waveguide at 10.6 μm

GaAs/GaAsP heterostructures are fabricated as optical waveguides at 10.6 μm. The wafers are being grown with maximum dimensions of the order of 5 cm by vapor phase epitaxy. An attenuation rate of 2 dB/cm for a single mode waveguide and 1.5 dB/cm for a two-mode waveguide has been measured for the TE₀ mode.     

Hybrid plasmonic waveguide with gain medium for lossless propagation with nanoscale confinement

In this Letter, we propose a hybrid plasmonic nanosystem consisting of a silver cladding layer with a semicylinder bump on top of InGaAsP nanowire. Because of the coupling between the dielectric waveguide mode and surface plasmon polariton mode, the hybrid plasmonic mode can exhibit low loss with strong field localization. The finite element method numerical simulations are employed to evaluate the performances of the hybrid mode. In order to achieve the lossless propagation of the hybrid mode with the mode area of 0.0058(λ2/4) at 1.55 μm, the material gain of 200 nm × 300 nm InGaAsP nanowire should reach 1223 cm?1.     

Study for dual-function EUV multilayer mirror

Studying the distribution of He⁺ in Earth's plasmasphere by detecting its resonantly scattered emission at 304 Å will record the structure and dynamics of the cold plasma in Earth's plasmasphere on a global scale. EUV imaging systems usually utilizes near-normal incidence optics including multilayer mirror and filter. In this paper, the space condition of the Earth's plasmasphere to confirm the expected performance of mirror were analyzed. In order to achieve higher response at 304 Å and reduce 584 Å radiation for the optical system, a new multilayer coating of Mo/Si with UO₂ was developed. Based on optical constants of Mo, Si and UO₂, we used a simplest method to compute the reflectance of this new multilayer mirror range from 100 to 584 Å. The results show the desirable thickness of UO₂ is 17 Å, and the multilayer mirror has a high reflectance of 26.10% at 304 Å and a low reflectance of 0.52% at 584 Å.