Simplified model for calculation of power and spectral characteristics of laser diode with fiber Bragg grating

A simplified model consisting of a laser diode, air gap, and optical fiber is used to calculate power and spectral characteristics and the band width of the radiation of laser with fiber Bragg grating. The results of the simplified model are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data on power and spectral characteristics. The radiation band width of the laser diode with fiber Bragg grating can be less than the band width for a single laser diode by four orders of magnitude.     

Analysis of the radiation pattern of laser diode radiation based on experimental data

It is shown that the radiation pattern of laser diode radiation can quantitatively be analyzed without labor-intensive and expensive measurements of the radiation intensity distribution in the near-field zone. Formulas are obtained in the explicit form, which analytically describe the radiation pattern of laser diode radiation in free space, and a simple algorithm is developed for determining the fundamental lasing mode.     

The effect of irradiation angle on laser ignition of cellulose sheet in microgravity

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of external radiation angle on radiative ignition of solid materials. A laser ignition experiment was performed in microgravity to investigate events occurring in the ignition process in a quiescent atmosphere. Filter paper was used as the test material, and it was heated by infrared radiation (CO₂ laser 10.6 μm) or near-infrared radiation (diode laser, 800.1 nm). The ignition time was determined for various irradiation angles, and the gas phase density change before ignition was observed by a Mach–Zehnder interferometer for each test condition. The results showed that the ignition by CO₂ laser occurred on the laser beam line depending on the irradiation angle, while diode laser caused a similar ignition position independent of the irradiation angle. The period from gasification to ignition with CO₂ laser was almost the same for different irradiation angles, while it varied with the irradiation angle for diode laser, and the ignition time was much shorter than that with diode laser. According to these results, it is considered that solid ignition with inclined external radiation is characterized based on (1) solid surface heating and (2) gas phase heating, and the second factor, gas phase heating, causes the different dependence of solid ignition on irradiation angle with different radiation wavelengths.     

Phase-locked optical divide-by-3 system for visible radiation

An optical divide-by-3 system has been developed to phase lock a diode-pumped Tm:YAG laser at 148 THz (2022 nm) to a frequency near 1/3 that of an ultrastable diode laser system at 445 THz (674 nm). The 148-THz radiation is frequency doubled in angle-tuned AgGaS(2) and frequency differenced with the 445-THz radiation in noncritically phase-matched LiNbO(3) , generating two signals at 297 THz, which are mixed on a photodiode. An electronic servo system is used to control the frequency of the Tm:YAG laser and to phase lock it to the visible diode laser output. Phase-locking periods of several minutes are routinely obtained.     

Frequency doubled diode laser in alternative extended cavity

We report on an alternative extended cavity scheme used with a 180 mW quantum well GaAlAs diode laser, operating near 850 nm. A dispersing prism and a thin glass plate are employed to enforce stable single-mode operation in the strong feedback regime, with no need for laser AR coatings. Compared to other configurations where a grating is used, the lower loss in the extended cavity allows higher fundamental power available for second harmonic generation. For example, by frequency doubling using potassium niobate in a power enhancement cavity, enough power can be generated from a single diode laser to decelerate and trap calcium atoms with radiation at 423 nm.     

Photoemission pulsed source of wide-band directional electromagnetic radiation

Generation of wide-band directional electromagnetic radiation arising when the pulsed X radiation front strikes the photocathode of a planar diode at an angle is analyzed. The results of numerical simulation are compared with the experimental data obtained with the Iskra-5 setup, which is used for generation of a laser plasma as an X-ray source.     

Violet light generation by frequency doubling of GaAlAs diode laser using a metallo-organic complex crystal ZnCd(SCN)4

Violet 404-nm radiation is generated by type-I single-pass frequency doubling of the output of an GaAlAs diode laser in critically phase-matched ZnCd(SCN)₄ (ZCTC) crystal, a metallo-organic complex crystal. In this paper, its refractive index and second-harmonic generation phase-matching angles are reported. Using a 3-mm-long ZCTC crystal, a diode laser power of 473 mW generated 390 μW of second-harmonic radiation. More recently, 380-nm, 20 μW ultraviolet (UV) radiation is also realized by frequency doubling of the 100 mW output of a continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser at 760 nm. ZCTC is a promising UV nonlinear optical candidate material for frequency doubling of diode lasers.     

用ZCTC晶体倍频半导体激光的紫光输出

报道了新型金属络合物非线性光学材料ZCTC（硫氰硫锌镉）晶体的光学性质。测量了ZCTC晶体的折射率,计算了其相位匹配角度。进行了半导体激光（LD）室温下直接倍频实验。当808nm基频GaAlAs半导体激光功率为473mW时,获得了390μW、4040μnm紫光输出。实验表明ZCTC晶体是一种优良的半导体激光倍频紫外非线性光学材料。     

The use of antenna theory to calculate the electric fields in a thermal field emission metal whisker diode

In recent years, research groups have used metal-metal point contact diodes for frequency mixing and detection of infrared laser radiation. It has been postulated that the mechanism for the nonlinear current-voltage characteristic of the diode is the tunneling of electrons through an intermediate oxide film from the whisker tip to the metal base, i.e., the configuration is considered to be a metal-oxide-metal (MOM) tunneling junction. Several features of the diodes' operation create considerable doubt concerning the applicability of the MOM tunneling mechanism. Analysis of the available data led us to postulate an alternate solid state mechanism, namely a thermally enhanced field emission process. Such emission would be a consequence of the immersion of the whisker in the laser radiation resulting in (1) conduction heating which induces thermionic emission and (2) generation of an electric field at the tip necessary for electron tunneling. In an earlier paper, we calculated the power absorbed by the cylindrical shank of a point contact diode in an infrared radiation field. Using the absorbed power as a source, detailed calculations were made of the laser induced temperature distributions on the diode; more approximate treatments were used to obtain the electric fields developed on the tip. Values of the computed temperature and field parameters for tungsten were found to be consistent with a thermal field emission process. In this paper we present a more rigorous calculation of the voltages and fields induced on different metal whisker tips by the incident laser radiation. Linear antenna theory is used to describe the receiving properties of the diode. The actual pointed geometry of the diode tip has been taken into account using Schelkunoff's theory of the conical antenna. The electric fields at the tip are found to be comparable with those necessary for field emission. The highest fields are established on gold tips, consistent with the experiments of Green et al. who found the best responsivity occurs with gold-gold contacts. Finally we discuss the significance of the experimental results of Young et al. on metal-vacuum-metal tunneling characteristics to the MOM tunneling hypothesis.     

Single-tone frequency-modulation spectroscopy with frequency-doubled current-modulated diode laser light

We demonstrate and characterize the generation of single-tone frequency-modulated and frequency-doubled radiation at 400 MHz and 430 nm. We obtained the radiation at 430 nm by frequency doubling light from a current-modulated 860-nm diode laser, using noncritical type I phase matching in a KNbO(3) crystal. The optical spectrum of the doubled light was found to be in keeping with our expectations based on the measured frequency- and amplitude-modulation indices of the fundamental radiation. The experimentally measured diode laser and crystal parameters were used to simulate the in-phase and quadrature signals that would be observed in a single-tone frequency-modulation spectroscopy experiment.     

Tunable frequency-controlled laser source in the near ultraviolet based on doubling of a semiconductor diode laser

Continuously tunable ultraviolet laser radiation at 397 nm was generated by doubling the output of a semiconductor diode laser. The fundamental radiation was provided by a 150 mW AlGaAs laser diode injected by a low-power AlGaAs laser diode which was frequency stabilized by optical feedback using a new scheme of a miniature external cavity. Second-harmonic generation was produced in a lithium-triborate crystal placed in a compact enhancement cavity. The fundamental radiation was used for sub-Doppler spectroscopy of the Ar I 4s ³ P ⁰ ₀–4p ¹ P ₁ transition at 795 nm; the second-harmonic radiation was used for spectroscopy of the Ca II 4² S _1/2–4² P _1/2 transition at 397 nm.     

Numerical Simulation Optimization of Selective Heating of Blood Vessels in “Port-Wine Stains” under Laser Irradiation in Various Modes

Numerical simulation of blood vessel heating is used to select the most efficient and safe methods of laser treatment of “port-wine stains”. Selective heating under radiation is calculated for a 980-nm diode laser, a Nd:YAG laser, a copper vapor laser (CVL), and a pulsed dye laser (PDL). The energy exposure range (fluence), the diameter and depth of vessels, at which their selective heating to the coagulation temperature is possible, are determined.     

Manufacturing of Nd:Gd3Ga5O12 ridge waveguide lasers by pulsed laser deposition and ultrafast laser micromachining

Laser radiation is used both for the deposition of the laser active thin films and for the micro structuring to define wave guiding structures for the fabrication of waveguide lasers. Thin films of crystalline and amorphous neodymium doped Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂ are grown on single crystal yttrium aluminium garnet by pulsed laser deposition using excimer laser radiation.Manufacturing of the laser active waveguides by micro structuring is done using femtosecond laser ablation of the deposited films. The structural and optical properties of the films and the morphology of the structured waveguides are determined in view of the design and the fabrication of compact and efficient diode pumped waveguide lasers. The resulting waveguides are polished, provided with resonator mirrors, pumped using diode lasers and the waveguide lasers are characterized. The spectroscopic properties of the amorphous waveguide are investigated and an infrared waveguide laser is demonstrated. To our knowledge, there have been no reports by other groups of the successful operation of a structured waveguide laser fabricated by this technique or of a waveguide laser made from amorphous neodymium doped Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂.     

Laser heating of biological tissue with blood vessels: Modeling and clinical trials

The spatial distribution of the energy absorbed by a unit volume of a laser-irradiated biological tissue is calculated by the Monte Carlo method. Based on these calculations, the temperature fields in biological tissues subjected to laser radiation at 810 nm are modeled. The temperature fields in subcutaneous blood vessels are modeled separately taking into account the inhomogeneous volumetric distribution of heat sources inside the vessels. The results of the modeling showed that laser heating can be efficiently used both for small-diameter and large vessels. Experimental clinical trials of therapy of vascular skin changes by pulsed diode laser radiation (at 810 nm) confirmed these results.     

Sum frequency generation at 309 nm using a violet and a near-IR DFB diode laser for detection of OH

We have used a violet diode laser at 404 nm and a distributed feedback diode laser at 1320 nm to produce 0.8 nW of radiation at 309 nm by sum frequency generation in beta-barium borate. The UV radiation was tuned mode-hop-free over 30 GHz and used to detect OH radicals produced in a microwave discharge. By chopping the UV light at 500 Hz, we observed a concentration of 2×10¹² cm^-3 with a signal to noise ratio of 30:1. Received: 16 November 2001 / Revised version: 23 January 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

The thermal properties of a single-heterostructure laser diode supplied with short current pulses

The analysis of the heat spreading in the single-heterostructure GaAs-Ga₁-x Al _x As laser diode supplied with short current pulses (in the case, however, when the adiabatic approximation is no longer valid) at room temperature is presented in this paper. Relations are derived, describing the time-dependent temperature rise within the volume of the laser diode. The calculations are carried out for a typical SH laser diode. It turns out that in the duration of the short current pulses (t _I=200 ns,j=1.5 × 10⁴A cm^–2) the increase in junction temperature of the typical SH laser diode amounts to about 6.1 K. This increase leads to an increase of about 9% in the threshold current, to a decrease of about 18% in the laser radiation intensity, and to a shift of the spontaneous radiation band and of the stimulated radiation modes of about 1.9 nm and 0.22 nm, respectively, during each current pulse.     

Tunable far-infrared spectroscopy extended to 9.1THz

We synthesized tunable far-infrared radiation at frequencies higher than 9 THz (300 cm (-1)) by mixing CO(2) laser, (15)NH(3) laser, and microwave radiation in a W-Co metal-insulator-metal diode. We used this farinfrared radiation to accurately measure torsion-rotation transitions of CH(3)OH in the 8-9-THz region. We also measured the frequency of the aP(7, 3) (15)NH(3) laser transition.     

High-resolution spectroscopy at steady-state lasing with multiphoton backscattering

A steady-state self-consistent lasing regime in a laser cavity is investigated with allowance for the back action of the output radiation at four-wave low-frequency scattering in the external sample. The scattering is by the photoelastic potential in the field of the additional opposing laser. General expressions for steady-state amplitudes of field oscillation in the cavity are obtained and employed for investigation of lasing features. Experiments were carried out with narrow-band (line width 1 MHz) continuously tunable diode lasers. The four-wave scattering occurred in solid and liquid dielectrics. It is shown that the fourwave scattering of the pumping laser radiation into the cavity of the signal laser substantially changes its lasing spectrum and can be used to measure dispersion of acousto-optic parameters.     

Threshold, power, and spectral characteristics of a semiconductor emitter with a fiber Bragg grating

The threshold, power, and spectral characteristics of an emitter with a fiber Bragg grating are calculated. The effect of heating of the active region of a laser diode, its thermal resistance, and radiation power extracted from the cavity of the emitter on these characteristics is investigated. It is shown that satisfactory agreement between the theory and experiment is observed when the heating of the active zone of the laser diode by the pump current flowing through it and the radiation power extracted from the cavity of the emitter are taken into account.     

Parameters of a laser diode with a fiber Bragg grating at different fiber lengths

Theoretical and experimental results are used to demonstrate that an increase in the pump current leads to an increase in the range of continuous variation in the radiation wavelength and power of a laser diode with a fiber Bragg grating with a decrease in the fiber length. An expression for the gain that depends on the carrier density in the laser active area is derived. The watt-ampere and spectral characteristics that are calculated in the two cases are in reasonable agreement.