Diode-pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser at 1 μm

We demonstrated a diode-pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser with simple plane-concave cavity. When the pump power at a wavelength of 811.6 nm is 1.5 W, the maximum output power is 40.4 mW at the wavelength of 1005.8 nm. The optical-optical conversion efficiency is 2.7%. .     

Intracavity frequency-doubled green vertical external cavity surface emitting laser

An intracavity frequency-doubled vertical external cavity surface emitting laser(VECSEL)with green light is demonstrated.The fundamental frequency laser cavity consists of a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR)of the gain chip and an external mirror.A 12-mW frequency-doubled output has been reached at 540 nm with a nonlinear crystal LBO when the fundamental frequency output is 44 mW at 1080 nm.The frequency doubling efficiency is about 30%.     

Investigation on achieving the diode-pumped weak line laser at 1.3 μm

In this paper, a continuous-wave (CW) diode-side-pumped Nd:YAlO₃ (Nd:YAP) laser operating at the weak line of 1339 nm has been achieved and investigated. The output of the 1339 nm laser was realized based on the polarization selection and reasonable transmittance design. The relationship between the output powers and resonator lengths of the 1339 nm Nd:YAP laser has been studied and the optimum resonator length was adopted to improve the output power. As high as 31.3 W output power of the a-axis polarized 1339 nm laser has been obtained at the pumping power of 555 W with the optical-optical and slope efficiencies to be 5.6% and 13%, respectively. This work will provide an effective way to obtain the weak line lasers for potential applications in spectroscopy, coherent terahertz generation, etc.     

Spectral beam combining of 2 μm Tm fiber laser systems

Output beams from three independently frequency-stabilized thulium master-oscillator power-amplifier fiber laser systems were spectrally combined using a plane-ruled metal diffraction grating. Two laser channels were frequency-stabilized with guided mode resonance filters and the third was stabilized using a plane-ruled metal diffraction grating. The systems had output wavelengths between 1984 and 2015 nm, each with a spectral width of 100-450 pm and output powers between 40-120 W. The combined beam had powers up to 49 W and was 32% efficient with respect to the launched pump power.     

Graphene-based passively Q-switched 2 μm thulium-doped fiber laser

We demonstrated stable pulses generation at 2 μm in a passively Q-switched thulium-doped fiber laser using a few layer graphene thin film. The maximum output power was 4.5 mW and the single pulse energy was 85 nJ at 53 kHz repetition rate, and the pulse width was about 1.4 μs. The pulse width and the repetition rate of the Q-switched fiber laser can be changed along with the pump power. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of graphene saturable absorber for passively Q-switched 2 μm fiber lasers.     

Temperature-dependent absorptance of painted aluminum, stainless steel 304, and titanium for 1.07 μm and 10.6 μm laser beams

We measured the temperature-dependent absorptance of metals (Al, Ti, SS304) for continuous beams from 1.07 μm fiber laser and 10.6 μm CO₂ laser using power sensors and infrared (IR) pyrometers. The absorptance measurements were repeated for metals with three different paint coatings. For measurements at elevated temperatures up to the melting point, integrating sphere is not practical since high temperature radiation from a heated target disturbs weak output from the sphere considerably. Our results provide how each metal, whether coated or uncoated, absorbs the infrared beams as temperature is elevated to a melting point. A polynomial approximation to the measured absorptance of each target is provided for modeling of the laser-metal interaction at elevated temperatures.     

Narrow line-width resonant cavity enhanced photodetectors operating at 1.55 μm

A method for fabrication of long-wavelength narrow line-width InGaAs resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) photodetectors in a silicon substrate operating at the wavelength range of 1.3-1.6 μm has been developed. A full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.7 nm and a peak responsivity of 0.16 A/W at the resonance wavelength of 1.55 μm have been accomplished by using a thick InP layer as part of the resonant cavity. The effects of roughness and tilt of the InP layer surface, and its free carrier absorption, as well as the thickness deviation of the mirror pair on the resonance wavelength shift and the peak quantum efficiency of the RCE photodetectors are analyzed in detail, and approaches for minimizing them toward superior performance are suggested.     

LD end pumped mode locked and cavity dumped Nd:YAP laser at 1.34 μm

We report a LD end pumped actively mode locked, passively Q switched and cavity dumped Nd:YAP laser at 1.34 μm. The dumped output pulse energy of 160 μJ is obtained at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. Passing through a LD end pumped, double-passed Nd:YAP amplifier the pulse energy is amplified to 1.44 mJ. The corresponding amplification factor is 9. Stimulated Raman scattering experiment is taken with a 9 mm long PbWO₄ Raman crystal. Maximum of 20% Raman conversion is reached.     

A digital-alloy AlGaAs/GaAs distributed Bragg reflector for application to 1.3μm surface emitting laser diodes

A distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) utilizing the digital alloy Al_0.9Ga_0.1As was grown by using the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method for application in 1.3 μm optical communications and compared to the analog-alloy AlGaAs/GaAs DBR. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) image showed a highly abrupt boundary of AlAs and GaAs, which supports the formation of a digital-alloy Al_0.9Ga_0.1As layer. The measurement showed that the digital-alloy AlGaAs/GaAs DBR had similar reflection spectra with enhanced uniform distribution over the whole substrate surface compared to the analog-alloy one. In the digital-alloy Al_0.9Ga_0.1As/GaAs DBR cavity, the reflection dip position was measured at around 1273 nm and the standard deviation of the distribution of the reflection dip was 1.31 nm in wavelength over 1/4 of a three-inch wafer.     

Investigation of 1.06 μm laser induced plasma in air using optical interferometry

The laser produced plasma in air by Q-switch Nd:YAG pulses with 50 mJ and 7 ns was analyzed using Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The interferograms were taken at various delay times after single pulses induced gas breakdown. The 3D electron density distribution at early times of the plasma is investigated. To determine the 3D electron density distribution of the plasma, the FFT analysis is applied to extract the phase of the reconstructed interferograms and the numerical inverse Abel transformation is used to calculate the refractive index. The results provide an understanding of the electron density temporal and spatial evolution of laser induced plasma in air from 18 ns and up to 100 ns of plasma lifetime.     

Suppression of slow gain recovery in ultralong quantum-dash semiconductor optical amplifier emitting at 1.55 μm

Gain dynamics in two quantum-dash semiconductor optical amplifiers of different lengths emitting in the 1.55 μm region are investigated experimentally and compared. It is shown that slow gain recovery due to total carrier relaxation is totally suppressed in the ultralong amplifier. Consequently, the 10%-90% gain recovery time is drastically reduced from about 40 ps (short sample) to 10 ps (long one).     

Amplification characteristics measurement of 1.55 μm multi-mode LD

The amplification characteristics of 1.55 μm multi-mode LD are presented experimentally. It demonstrates that nine wavelengths across 1547–1557 nm have a good amplification, the maximum gain of ∼43 dB at 1552.14 nm is obtained with pump power of 130 mW @980 nm, and noise figure of ∼5.6 dB at 1554.3 nm is achieved.     

On plasma surface coupling of 1.06μm laser radiation with copper targets

The thermal coupling coefficient of neodymium glass laser radiation to copper targets was measured as a function of incident laser intensity. It was shown that the addition of a small amount of NaCl on the surface of the copper target can change the coupling coefficient considerably. A tentative explanation for this effect based on the change of plasma properties due to the presence of sodium is offered.     

6.2 W laser-diode end-pumped continuous-wave Nd:YALO3 laser at 1.34 μm

We report a compact and efficient LD end-pumped linearly polarized Nd:YAP laser operating at 1.34 μm. The laser system with different crystal lengths, output couplers and cavity types were compared. Based on optimizing of the pump system and laser cavity, 6.2 W laser radiation at 1341.4 nm with c-axis polarized was achieved, corresponding to an optical conversion efficiency of about 24.8% with respect to the incident pump power. The laser threshold was only about 1.3 W and the optical slope efficiency was up to 27.2%.     

1.55 μm distributed feedback (DFB) lasers subject to strong 1.4 μm optical injection

An experimental analysis of the influence of optical injection at 1.4 μm wavelength into two different commercial 1.55 μm DFB lasers is reported. The results demonstrate the strong dependence of the DFB behaviour on the injection parameters. Complete mode suppression or signal amplification can be obtained by varying the excitation wavelength and/or intensity, suggesting that these devices could be operated as logic ports or signal amplifiers, according to the injected signal.     

Long range surface plasmon polariton waveguides at 1.31 and 1.55 μm wavelengths

We investigate characteristics of gold metal strip waveguides based on long range surface plasmon polaritons (LRSPPs) along thin metal strips embedded in a polymer for practical applications at the telecommunication wavelengths of 1.31 and 1.55 μm. Guiding properties of the gold strip waveguides are theoretically and experimentally evaluated with the limited thickness and width up to ∼20 nm and ∼10 μm, respectively. The lowest propagation loss of ∼1.4 dB/cm is obtained with a 14.5-nm-thick and 2-μm-wide gold strip at 1.55 μm. With a single-mode fiber, the lowest coupling loss of ∼0.4 dB/facet is achieved with a 14.5-nm-thick and 5-μm-wide gold strip at 1.55 μm. The lowest insertion losses are obtained 8-9 dB with 1.5 cm-long gold strips of a limited thickness and width at both the wavelengths. We demonstrate a 10 Gbps optical signal transmission via the LRSPP waveguide with a 14 nm-thick, 2.5 μm-wide, and 4 cm-long gold strip. These LRSPP waveguides have potential applications for optical interconnects and communications.     

Photoemission from α and β phases of the GaAs(0 0 1)-c(4 × 4) surface

We prepared α- and β surface phases of GaAs(0 0 1)-c(4 × 4) reconstruction by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using As₄ and As₂ molecular beams, respectively, and examined them by angle-resolved ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with synchrotron radiation as an excitation source. The UPS valence band spectra and the XPS 3d core level data show pronounced differences corresponding to the surface composition and the atomic structure of the two phases, as proposed in the literature. In UPS, the β phase is characterized by an intensive surface state 0.5 eV below the top of the valence band at low photon energy, while an analogous peak in the α phase spectra is missing. The surface state is interpreted in terms of dangling bonds on As dimers. The As3d and Ga3d core level photoelectron lines exhibit phase-specific shapes as well as differences in the number, position and intensity of their deconvoluted components. The location of various atoms in the surface and subsurface layers is discussed; our photoemission results support models of the β phase and the α phase with As-As dimers and Ga-As heterodimers, respectively.     

High sensitivity CW-CRDS of O enriched water near 1.6 μm

The absorption spectrum of ¹⁸O enriched water has been recorded by continuous wave cavity ring down spectroscopy between 5905.7 and 6725.7 cm⁻¹ using a series of fibred DFB lasers. The investigated spectral region corresponds to the important 1.55 μm transparency window of the atmosphere where water absorption is very weak. The typical CRDS sensitivity (noise equivalent absorption of 5×10⁻¹⁰ cm⁻¹) allowed for the detection of lines with intensity as low as 10⁻²⁸ cm/molecule while the minimum intensity value provided by HITRAN in the considered spectral region is 1.7×10⁻²⁴ cm/molecule. The line parameters were retrieved with the help of an interactive least squares multi-lines fitting program assuming a Voigt function as line profile. Overall, 4510 absorption lines belonging to the H₂¹⁸O, H₂¹⁶O, HD¹⁸O, HD¹⁶O and H₂¹⁷O water isotopologues were measured. Their intensities range between 3×10⁻²⁹ and 5×10⁻²³ cm/molecule at 296 K and the typical accuracy on the line positions is 1×10⁻³ cm⁻¹. 2074 of the observed lines attributed to H₂¹⁸O, HD¹⁸O and H₂¹⁷O are reported for the first time. The transitions were assigned on the basis of variational calculations resulting in 288, 135 and 38 newly determined rovibrational energy levels for the H₂¹⁸O, HD¹⁸O and H₂¹⁷O isotopologues, respectively. The new data set includes the band origin of the 4ν₂ bending overtone of H₂¹⁸O at 6110.4239 cm⁻¹ and rovibrational levels corresponding to J and K_a values up to 18 and 12, respectively, for the strongest bands of H₂¹⁸O: 4ν₂, ν₁+2ν₂, 2ν₂+ν₃, 2ν₁, ν₁+ν₃, and ν₂+ν₃. The obtained experimental results have been compared to the spectroscopic parameters provided by the HITRAN database and to the recent IUPAC critical review of the rovibrational spectrum of H₂¹⁸O and H₂¹⁷O as well as to variational calculations. Large discrepancies between the 4ν₂ variationally predicted and experimental intensities have been evidenced for the H₂¹⁸O and H₂¹⁶O molecules.     

1.54 μm emission mechanism of Er-doped zinc oxide thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and Er-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Er) thin films were formed by pulsed laser deposition, and characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in order to clarify the 1.54 μm emission mechanism in the ZnO:Er films. Er ions were excited indirectly by the 325 nm line of a He-Cd laser, and the comparison of the ultraviolet to infrared PL data of ZnO and ZnO:Er films showed that the 1.54 μm emission of Er³⁺ in ZnO:Er film appears at the expense of the band edge emission and the defect emission of ZnO. The crystallinity of the films was varied with the substrate temperature and post-annealing, and it was found that the intensity of the 1.54 μm emission is strongly related with the crystallinity of the films. There are three processes leading to the 1.54 μm emission; absorption of excitation energy by the ZnO host, energy transfer from ZnO to Er ions, and radiative relaxation inside Er ions, and it is suggested that the crystallinity plays an important role in the first two processes.     

Self-broadening coefficients and positions of acetylene around 1.533 μm studied by high-resolution diode laser absorption spectrometry

The self-broadening coefficients of acetylene at room temperature have been measured for 10 lines in the P branch of the bands of ¹²C₂H₂ and ¹³C¹²CH₂ near 1.533 μm, using a high resolution tunable diode laser spectrometer developed for the Martian space mission PHOBOS-Grunt. The collisional widths are obtained by fitting each recorded line with the Voigt profile as well as the Rautian profile accounting for the collisional Dicke narrowing effect. The standard Voigt model provides slightly smaller broadening coefficients than the Rautian model. Our data are thoroughly compared to the main atmospheric molecule database HITRAN and previous values in various bands of acetylene. Moreover, it is worth noting that a large number of new transitions not listed in the latest HITRAN08 were measured and identified for the first time.