The frequency noise and spectral linewidth in semiconductor ring lasers

Numerical analyses for power spectral density of frequency noise (FN) and spectral linewidth in monolithic semiconductor ring laser (SRL) operating in the bistable unidirectional regime are performed in this paper. The Langevin noise sources for electric field and carrier density fluctuations are also taken into account in the frequency-domain theoretical model. The influences of several important physical parameters on the FN properties and laser linewidth are clearly demonstrated, including the injection current, linewidth enhancement factor and the particular backscattering coefficient. Due to the particular backscattering in SRLs, the calculated linewidths are relatively higher than that from the conventional Henry formula. The laser linewidth shows an exponential relationship with the backscattering strength.     

半导体激光器线宽压窄及其特性研究

本文从理论上分析了外腔半导体激光器的线宽压窄原理,用延时自外差法对外腔半导体激光器的线宽特性进行了测量研究,得到了线宽反比于激光器输出功率及外腔反馈率的实验结果.     

Analysis of the spectral linewidth of three-cavity semiconductor laser diodes

The spectral linewidth for a semiconductor laser diode coupled to two external cavities (known as a three-cavity laser diode) is studied in the article. A closed-form expression for the linewidth of this laser is derived by analyzing the number of photons in the laser cavity. It is found that, because of the optical feedback provided by the external cavities, the photon lifetime becomes longer than that of a solitary Fabry-Perot (FP) laser, hence reducing the value of the spectral linewidth. Our theoretical investigations reveal that the linewidth of a three-cavity laser can be reduced further by using external mirrors with high reflectivities and using anti-refection (AR) coatings on the laser diode facets. We have also studied the effects of uncertainties in the linewidth enhancement factor a due to optical feedback and found that such uncertainties have negligible effects on the validity of our results.     

Phase and spectral properties of optically injected semiconductor lasers

The main control parameters of a single mode semiconductor laser submitted to an injected external signal are the power and the frequency of the injected signal. Following their magnitude, many phenomena can be observed such as phase locking, frequency locking, frequency generation, push-pull effects, hysteresis phenomena and chaos,... We show here that the spectral signature of the slave laser enables a better understanding of the the nonlinear interaction between the two competing sources: the spontaneous emission and the external field for which spectra are equally amplified through the active medium. This amplification is then strongly dependent on their coherency. We describe the role of the injected laser as a filter and an amplifier. It follows that the laser can be used to process information in ways that are not yet completely exploited. To cite this article: S. Blin et al., C. R. Physique 4 (2003).     

外腔半导体激光器中激光二极管端面反射率的谱特性分析

考虑到端面反射率与波长有关 ,且带宽有限的实验事实 ,以及增益谱随载流子密度变化的因素 ,着重分析了激光二极管 (L D)镀膜端面反射率带宽、极小波长位置参量对光栅外腔激光器 (ECL D)调谐范围的影响。分析表明 ,除了 L D镀膜端面剩余反射率值、外腔反馈效率等因素之外 ,增大反射率带宽、精确控制极小波长位置是进一步挖掘 ECL D调谐范围的有效措施。增大反射率带宽 ,可更有效地提高参考载流子密度 ,延伸长波长端调谐区域 ,抑制 F- P腔影响。在确定的条件下 ,优化后的极小波长位置对应于调谐范围的极大值。理论分析结果较好地解释了实验现象     

Narrow linewidth pulsed optical parametric oscillator

Tunable narrow linewidth radiation by optical parametric oscillation has many applications, particularly in spectroscopic investigation. In this paper, different techniques such as injection seeding, use of spectral selecting element like grating, grating and etalon in combination, grazing angle of incidence, entangled cavity configuration and type-II phase matching have been discussed for generating tunable narrow linewidth radiation by singly resonant optical parametric oscillation process.     

Natural linewidth of anisotropic lasers

The natural linewidth of lasers is shown to be enhanced with respect to the value predicted by the Schawlow-Townes formula when the gain is high and inhomogeneous in transverse or longitudinal directions. A general formula for the linewidth enhancement is derived from first principles: Maxwell's equations and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, for media with arbitrary bi-anisotropy and dispersion. The result is expressed in terms of an integral of the resonating field over the cavity volume. For isotropic media (scalar and ), this formula generalizes previous results by Petermann for gain-guided lasers, by Ujihara for lasers with low reflectivity mirrors, and results obtained by other authors for lasers coupled to long external cavities. The role of non-reciprocity is discussed.     

Hysteretical and spectral behaviour of bistable cleaved coupled cavity semiconductor diode lasers

Cleaved coupled-cavity GaAs/AlGaAs diode lasers have been fabricated which display optical bistability with wide hysteresis loops in their light current (L/I) characteristics. The single longitudinal mode output of these devices has been investigated under several operating conditions. The observed spectral changes associated with mode hopping, shifting and jumping across the band have been explained qualitatively.     

可调谐半导体激光器研究及进展

可调谐半导体激光器是新一代密集波分复用系统以及全光网络中光子交换的关键光电子器件 ,它的运用使得光纤传输系统容量大大增加 ,灵活性和可扩展性大大增强 ,目前已经实现了宽波长范围的连续或准连续调谐 ,并有相应的产品投放市场 .文章介绍了各种基于不同谐振腔结构的可调谐激光器以及各自的调谐机理 ,对不同类型器件在制作以及实际应用中的优缺点进行了比较 .同时总结了国外可调谐半导体激光器的最新进展 ,并对我国可调谐半导体激光器的研制提出了相应的要求     

Frequency-tunable semiconductor lasers

Recent advances in frequency-tunable semiconductor lasers are reviewed. They are classified into hybrid and monolithic tunable lasers. Monolithic tunable lasers based on distributed Bragg reflector or distributed feedback laser structures are most attractive for practical applications. The device structures and the tuning characteristics are described, with emphasis on the tuning range, spectral linewidth and frequency-switching time. Recent system experiments using monolithic tunable lasers in an optical communication area are also described.An Invited Paper     

Narrow luminescence linewidth of a silicon quantum dot

Single-dot luminescence spectroscopy was used to study the emission linewidth of individual silicon nanocrystals from low temperatures up to room temperature. The results show a continuous line narrowing towards lower temperatures with a linewidth as sharp as 2 meV at 35 K. This value, clearly below the thermal broadening at this temperature, proves the atomiclike emission from silicon quantum dots subject to quantum confinement. The low temperature measurements further reveal a approximately 6 meV replica, whose origin is discussed. In addition, an approximately 60 meV TO-phonon replica was detected, which is only present in a fraction of the dots.     

窄线宽全光纤激光器实现666 W高功率输出

搭建了一台主振荡功率放大（MOPA）结构的窄线宽全光纤激光器。利用噪声相位调制技术将单频激光线宽展宽至0.3 GHz,通过四级放大器结构对10 mW的窄线宽种子激光进行放大,获得了功率为666 W的窄线宽激光输出。该窄线宽激光器输出功率仅受限于泵浦功率,增加泵浦功率有望进一步提高输出功率。     

Narrow linewidth laser diodes with broad continuous tuning range

A fast electronic frequency stabilisation scheme is presented which improves the coherence properties of near IR laser diodes substantially. The control loop is effective even under fast, wideband frequency tuning conditions, which opens up new fields of application in spectroscopy, range finding and data communication.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Herbert Welling on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Square microcavity semiconductor lasers

Square microcavities, which support whispering-gallery modes with total internal reflections, can be employed as high-quality laser resonators for fabricating compact, low-threshold semiconductor lasers. In this paper, we review the recent progress of square microcavity semiconductor lasers. The characteristics of confined optical modes in the square microcavities are introduced briefly. Based on the mode properties of the square microcavities, dual-mode lasers with tunable wavelength intervals are realized for generating microwave signals. Furthermore, deformed square microcavity lasers with the sidewalls replaced by circular sides are proposed and experimentally demonstrated to enhance the mode confinement and increase the dual-mode interval to the THz range. In order to further reduce the device size, metal-confined wavelength-scale square cavity lasers are also demonstrated.     

Instabilities in semiconductor lasers

One of the most relevant problems connected with optical fiber communication is that related to the presence of instabilities in the output of semiconductor lasers. These instabilities appear as nonlinearities in the optical power-current characteristic (kinks) or as dynamics instabilities (self-pulsing). These phenomena more frequently occur in devices without a refractive index profile introduced ad hoc in the junction plane (gain-guided lasers); self-pulsing, in particular, is present in aged lasers. Both of them, however, can appear also in nonaged lasers with lateral confinement of the e.m. field (index-guided lasers). In this paper the principal experimental results obtained studying instability phenomena and the physical mechanisms proposed for their explanation are reported and discussed.     

Kilohertz linewidth from frequency-stabilized mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

Frequency stabilization of mid-IR quantum cascade (QC) lasers to the kilohertz level has been accomplished by use of electronic servo techniques. With this active feedback, an 8.5-microm QC distributed-feedback laser is locked to the side of a rovibrational resonance of nitrous oxide (N(2) O) at 1176.61cm (-1) . A stabilized frequency-noise spectral density of 42Hz/ radicalHz has been measured at 100 kHz; the calculated laser linewidth is 12 kHz.     

LD泵浦单频种籽激光器及其线宽的测试

研究了 L D泵浦的单频种籽激光器。以 Nd:YAG和 Nd:YL F晶体为工作介质 ,采用微片腔的谐振腔形式 ,获得了 1.0 6μm和 1.0 5 3μm的单频激光输出 ,其输出功率分别为 90 m W和 10 m W。采用光纤延迟自零差拍法测量了单频固体激光的线宽 ,其线宽为 30 0 k Hz。     

基于光注入半导体激光器单周期振荡的光子微波产生及全光线宽窄化

本文对基于光注入半导体激光器的单周期动力学态产生光子微波并利用光反馈压缩其线宽进行了实验研究. 研究结果表明: 通过适当调节注入参数, 能对该方法产生的光子微波频率在数十GHz范围内进行连续、大范围地调节; 通过引入光反馈并精细调节反馈强度, 光子微波的线宽能够从40—100 MHz的范围被压缩约两个数量级至300—900 kHz范围;反馈长度对光子微波的线宽几乎没有影响, 但当反馈长度精细变化时, 光子微波频率会出现一定范围内的周期性漂移.