Observation of low-frequency fluctuations in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Low-frequency fluctuations, which are typical irregular oscillations in edge-emitting semiconductor lasers, are experimentally observed for the y-polarization mode (y is the direction along the optical axis of a laser material) in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with optical feedback.     

Nonlinear semiconductor lasers and amplifiers for all-optical information processing

The nonlinear properties of semiconductor lasers and laser amplifiers when subject to optical injection are reviewed and new results are presented for multisection lasers, vertical cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers, and surface-emitting lasers. The main underlying material parameters are outlined and the key design approaches are discussed for both edge-emitting and vertical cavity devices. An overview of theoretical modeling approaches is discussed and a summary of key experimental results is presented. The practical use of optically injected edge-emitting and vertical cavity semiconductor lasers and laser amplifiers is illustrated with examples of applications including, among others, optical logic and chaotic communication.     

Passively modelocked surface-emitting semiconductor lasers

This paper will review and discuss pico- and femtosecond pulse generation from passively modelocked vertical–external-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers (VECSELs). We shall discuss the physical principles of ultrashort pulse generation in these lasers, considering in turn the role played by the semiconductor quantum well gain structure, and the saturable absorber. The paper will analyze the fundamental performance limits of these devices, and review the results that have been demonstrated to date. Different types of semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) design, and their characteristic dynamics, are described in detail; exploring the ultimate goal of moving to a wafer integration approach, in which the SESAM is integrated into the VECSEL structure with tremendous gain in capability. In particular, the contrast between VECSELs and diode-pumped solid-state lasers and edge-emitting diode lasers will be discussed. Optically pumped VECSELs have led to an improvement by more than two orders of magnitude to date in the average output power achievable from a passively modelocked ultrafast semiconductor laser.     

Simulation of a Single-Mode Tunnel-Junction-Based Long-Wavelength VCSEL

We investigate the physics of an internal device for a high-performance, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser operating at 1.305 μm. Experimental results are analyzed using as the simulation software a photonic-integrated-circuit simulator in 3D (PICS3D), which is a state-of-the-art 3D simulator for surface- and edge-emitting laser diodes, semiconductor optical amplifiers, and other similar active waveguide devices. The 2D/3D semiconductor equations are coupled to the optical modes in both lateral and longitudinal directions. Optical properties such as the quantum well/wire/dot optical gain and spontaneous emission rates are computed self-consistently. Careful adjustments of material parameters led to an excellent agreement between simulation and measurements. Simulation results show that the maximum output power is limited by electron leakage from quantum wells.     

Novel hybrid construction of a visible surface-emitting laser and its two-dimensional arrays

A novel hybrid surface-emitting laser and two-dimensional laser array is reported. The device consists of rectangular GaAs reflectors and edge-emitting single laser or one-dimensional laser arrays which are fabricated separately. The devices are mounted upside-down on a copper heat sink, allowing for good heat conduction. The CW operation and the reflectivity characteristics of this surface-emitting laser have been investigated.     

Theoretical study on phase conjugation in weakly injected vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

This paper gives a detailed theoretical investigation on phase conjugation induced by nearly degenerate fourwave mixing in single mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers （VCSELs） with weak optical injection. Considering VCSELs that can work in linearly polarized or elliptically polarized states, it derives the theoretical expression of the conjugated field by small signal analysis based on the vectoral rate equations-the spin-flip model. For linearly polarized state, VCSELs show similar conjugate spectra to edge-emitting semiconductor lasers. For the elliptically polarized state, dichroism and birefringence parameters as well as the spin-flip rate can change the conjugate spectra. Especially, when frequency detuning of the probe and pump waves is between the positive and negative relaxation oscillation frequency, changes are evident. For specific values of parameters, conjugate efficiency between 20 dB to 40 dB are obtained.     

基于激光光致发光光谱的果实成熟度测试方法研究

介绍了一种探测果实成熟度的新方法。采用红光半导体激光器（655 nm）对果实样品进行照射,所得激光光致发光光谱在685 nm附近产生明显峰值。通过传统的糖度含量检测法测定样品的糖度含量,得到果实的激光光致发光光谱峰值强度随糖度含量增加而降低。利用最小二乘法原理对光致发光强度与糖度含量值进行比较分析,建立了两者的拟合曲线。以红心李和桃子为例,两者之间的相关系数分别为98.92%与97.31%。设计针对该激光光致发光光谱检测系统的分析软件,实现了生成标准成熟光谱及检测未知成熟度的果实光致发光光谱两部分功能,通过比较可以自动得出果实成熟度等级的判定。结果证明,激光光致发光光谱的成熟度检测方法具有非破坏性、设备小型化、低能耗的优点,在果实成熟度的实时快速检测方面具有应用价值。     

Simulation of mode-locked surface-emitting lasers through a finite-difference time-domain algorithm

An approach based on the finite-difference time-domain method is developed for simulating the dynamics of passive mode locking in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). The material response is modeled by the effective semiconductor Bloch equations through a resonant polarization term in the Maxwell's equations. Nonlinear gain saturation is incorporated through a gain compression factor in the equation governing the dynamics of the resonant polarization. An extended-cavity VCSEL with a quantum-well saturable absorber is simulated, and stable mode-locking pulses are obtained. Fine features of the spatial profile of the mode-locked pulses are also studied within this approach.     

Relationship between the electric performance and the photoluminescence spectra of resonant tunnelling diodes

Resonant tunnelling diodes with different structures were grown. Their photoluminescence spectra were investigated. By contrast, the luminescence in the quantum well is separated from that of other epilayers. The result is obtained that the exciton of the luminescence in the quantum well is partly come from the cap layer in the experiment. So the photoluminescence spectrum is closely related to the electron transport in the resonant tunnelling diode structure. This offers a method by which the important performance of resonant tunnelling diode could be forecast by analysing the integrated photoluminescence intensities.     

Photoluminescence Spectroscopy of an Aqueous Solution of Uranyl Cloride upon Laser and LED Excitation

The excitation of an aqueous solution of uranyl chloride by a 410-nm semiconductor LED and 266- and 448-nm lasers is found to induce intense photoluminescence: several bands in the blue-green spectral range (494 to 565 nm). Upon excitation of uranyl chloride aqueous solution by a 468-nm LED, the photoluminescence spectrum is a relatively narrow strong band peaking at 508 nm, which was interpreted as the transition from spontaneous photoluminescence to superluminescence. A lasing scheme (similar to that for dye lasers) has been proposed.