In‐band pumped Ti:Tm:LiNbO3 waveguide amplifier and low threshold laser

The fabrication by diffusion doping and a detailed optical investigation of a Ti:Tm:LiNbO₃ waveguide amplifier and of a Fabry‐Pérot type Ti:Tm:LiNbO₃ laser are reported. Both devices are in‐band pumped by a laser diode at 1650 nm. The wave‐guide amplifier shows broad‐band optical gain in the wavelength range 1750 nm < λ < 1900 nm. The laser emits at 1890 nm, the longest emission wavelength of a Tm:LiNbO₃ laser reported so far; also 1850 nm emission could be demonstrated. Laser threshold (1890 nm) is at 4 mW coupled pump power; the slope efficiency is ∼13.3%. Properties and potential of both devices are analyzed by extensive modeling.     

Blue‐green light generation using high brilliance edge emitting diode lasers

A review about second harmonic generation using edge emitting diode lasers and nonlinear crystals to obtain laser radiation in the blue‐green spectral range is presented. Therefore, pump laser radiation with high brightness and narrow bandwidth is necessary. Thus, this review gives an overview of the advances made with distributed feedback and Bragg reflector lasers, tapered lasers and amplifiers as well as external cavity diode lasers and master oscillator power amplifier schemes to achieve high brilliance emission. Since periodically poled materials have enabled high second harmonic conversion efficiencies with low and moderate pump powers, the review is focused on frequency doubling using those materials. The most commonly used materials, their properties and limitations are discussed briefly. Single pass and resonant SHG setups with waveguide and bulk nonlinear crystals are discussed and an emphasis on building compact and integrated devices is made.     

Wavelength tuning characteristics of a fabry-perot semiconductor laser with an external short cavity

Wavelength tuning characteristics of a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser with an external short cavity are analyzed, in which the oscillation wavelength can be changed by slightly altering the external cavity length. Analysis is based on rate equations for an optical power and carrier density. It is shown that the wavelength tuning range is dominated by a change of carrier density through the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change in the active layer of a laser diode. This depends on effective coupling coefficients of the optical field iteratively reflected back to the laser diode by the external mirror, and on reflection coefficients of an anti-reflection coated laser facet and the external mirror which compose the external cavity. The effective coupling coefficient is also derived using the waveguide theory and Kirchhoff ’s theory. Finally, an unstable condition which may limit a stable wavelength tuning range is shown by results of a linear stability analysis of rate equations.     

Intra‐laser‐cavity microparticle sensing with a dual‐wavelength distributed‐feedback laser

An integrated intra‐laser‐cavity microparticle sensor based on a dual‐wavelength distributed‐feedback channel waveguide laser in ytterbium‐doped amorphous aluminum oxide on a silicon substrate is demonstrated. Real‐time detection and accurate size measurement of single micro‐particles with diameters ranging between 1 µm and 20 µm are achieved, which represent the typical sizes of many fungal and bacterial pathogens as well as a large variety of human cells. A limit of detection of ∼500 nm is deduced. The sensing principle relies on measuring changes in the frequency difference between the two longitudinal laser modes as the evanescent field of the dual‐wavelength laser interacts with micro‐sized particles on the surface of the waveguide. Improvement in sensitivity far down to the nanometer range can be expected upon stabilizing the pump power, minimizing back reflections, and optimizing the grating geometry to increase the evanescent fraction of the guided modes.     

Dual‐wavelength monolithic Y‐branch distributed Bragg reflection diode laser at 671 nm suitable for shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy

A dual‐wavelength monolithic Y‐branch distributed Bragg reflection (DBR) diode laser at 671 nm is presented. The device is realized with deeply etched surface DBR gratings by one‐step epitaxy. A maximum optical output power of 110 mW is obtained in cw‐operation for each laser cavity. The emission wavelengths of the device are 670.5 nm and 671.0 nm with a spectral width of 13 pm (0.3 cm⁻¹) and a mean spectral distance of 0.46 nm (10.2 cm⁻¹) over the whole operating range. Together with a free running power stability of ± 1.1% this most compact diode laser is ideally suited as an excitation light source for portable shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS).     

Polarization‐resolved high‐resolution Raman spectroscopy with a light‐emitting diode

We demonstrate the use of a light‐emitting diode (LED) based experimental setup for collecting polarization‐resolved Raman spectra with good spectral resolution. The combination of a commercial red LED (630 nm), a 1‐nm bandwidth laser‐line filter, and a polarizing prism is used as a light source. Polarization‐resolved spectra in dimethyl sulfoxide are recorded and compared with the corresponding laser‐Raman spectra. The LED‐excited spectra exhibit a resolution slightly lower than those in the laser case but still close to the resolution of the spectrometer. All relevant spectral features of dimethyl sulfoxide including the symmetric and antisymmetric stretching modes of the CSC moiety are resolved with the experimental setup providing a spectral resolution of approximately 20 cm⁻¹. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High power AlGaInP laser diodes with zinc-diffused window mirror structure

The technology of zinc-diffusion to improve catastrophic optical damage (COD) threshold of compressively strained GaInP/A1GaInP quantum well laser diodes has been introduced. After zinc-diffusion, about 20-μm-long region at each facet of laser diode has been formed to serve as the window of the lasing light. As a result, the COD threshold has been significantly improved due to the enlargement of bandgap by the zinc-diffusion induced quantum well intermixing, compared with that of the conventional non-window structure. 40-mW continuous wave output power with the fundamental transverse mode has been realized under room temperature for the 3.5-μm-wide ridge waveguide diode. The operation current is 84 mA and the slope efficiency is 0.74 W/A at 40 mW. The lasing wavelength is 656 nm.     

Few‐cycle,broadband, mid‐infrared optical parametric oscillator pumped by a 20‐fs Ti:sapphire laser

A few‐cycle, broadband, singly‐resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) for the mid‐infrared based on MgO‐doped periodically‐poled LiNbO₃ (MgO:PPLN), synchronously pumped by a 20‐fs Ti:sapphire laser is reported. By using crystal interaction lengths as short as 250 µm, and careful dispersion management of input pump pulses and the OPO resonator, near‐transform‐limited, few‐cycle idler pulses tunable across the mid‐infrared have been generated, with as few as 3.7 optical cycles at 2682 nm. The OPO can be continuously tuned over 2179‐3732 nm (4589‐2680 cm^‐1) by cavity delay tuning, providing up to 33 mW of output power at 3723 nm. The idler spectra exhibit stable broadband profiles with bandwidths spanning over 422 nm (FWHM) recorded at 3732 nm. The effect of crystal length on spectral bandwidth and pulse duration is investigated at a fixed wavelength, confirming near‐transform‐limited idler pulses for all grating interaction lengths. By locking the repetition frequency of the pump laser to a radio‐frequency reference, and without active stabilization of the OPO cavity length, an idler power stability better than 1.6% rms over >2.75 hours is obtained when operating at maximum output power, in excellent spatial beam quality with TEM₀₀ mode profile. Photograph shows a multigrating MgO:PPLN crystal used as a nonlinear gain medium in the few‐cycle femtosecond mid‐IR OPO. The visible light is the result of non‐phase‐matched sum‐frequency mixing between the interacting beams.     

混合谐振模式宽带长波红外超表面吸收器研究

为了满足红外探测器件集成化和对红外宽光谱范围吸收的需求,设计了一种工作在长波红外波段(8~14μm)的超宽带、高吸收、极化不敏感的超材料吸收器。通过在金属-介质-金属三层异质的超材料吸收器结构的顶部金属周围镶嵌一层介质形成超表面,以增加谐振强度和吸收带宽。在8~13.6μm的带宽范围内,该结构有超过90%的平均吸收率,覆盖了大部分长波红外大气窗口波段,对红外探测领域有着重要意义。研究结果表明:镶嵌的金属-介质组成的介质波导模式和谐振腔模式的结合以及传播型表面等离激元模式的激发是形成宽带高吸收的主要原因,并且谐振模式的谐振波长可以通过相关参数来进行调控。本文的研究结果为可调谐宽带长波红外吸收材料的设计提供参考,该设计方法可推广到中波红外波段、甚至长波红外或其它波段。     

High‐brightness long‐wavelength semiconductor disk lasers

A review on the recent developments in the field of long‐wavelength (λ >1.2μm) high‐brightness optically‐pumped semiconductor disk lasers (OPSDLs) is presented. As thermal effects have such a crucial impact on the laser performance particular emphasis is given to modelling the thermal behaviour and optimisation of the heat‐sinking. Selected OPSDL devices, realized in different III‐V and IV‐VI semiconductor material systems, with corresponding emission wavelengths between 1.2 μm and 5.3 μm are presented. Specific applications in this broad spectral range are addressed and methods to obtain high output power are discussed in terms of the underlying material properties and device operating principles.     

Near‐room‐temperature photon‐noise‐limited quantum well infrared photodetector

With the modern development of infrared laser sources such as broadly tunable quantum cascade lasers and frequency combs, applications of infrared laser spectroscopy are expected to become widespread. Consequently, convenient infrared detectors are needed, having properties such as fast response, high efficiency, and room‐temperature operation. This work investigated conditions to achieve near‐room‐temperature photon‐noise‐limited performance of quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs), in particular the laser power requirement. Both model simulation and experimental verification were carried out. At 300 K, it is shown that the ideal performance can be reached for typical QWIP designs up to a detection wavelength of 10 µm. At 250 K, which is easily reachable with a thermoelectric Peltier cooler, the ideal performance can be reached up to 12 µm. QWIPs are therefore suitable for detection and sensing applications with devices operating up to or near room temperature.     

Bismuth telluride topological insulator nanosheet saturable absorbers for q‐switched mode‐locked Tm:ZBLAN waveguide lasers

Nanosheets of bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃), a topological insulator material that exhibits broadband saturable absorption due to its non‐trivial Dirac‐cone like energy structure, are utilized to generate short pulses from Tm:ZBLAN waveguide lasers. By depositing multiple layers of a carefully prepared Bi₂Te₃ solution onto a glass substrate, the modulation depth and the saturation intensity of the fabricated devices can be controlled and optimized. This approach enables the realization of saturable absorbers that feature a modulation depth of 13% and a saturation intensity of 997 kW/cm². For the first time to our knowledge, Q‐switched mode‐locked operation of a linearly polarized mid‐IR ZBLAN waveguide chip laser was realized in an extended cavity configuration using the topological insulator Bi₂Te₃. The maximum average output power of the laser is 16.3 mW and the Q‐switched and mode‐locked repetition rates are 44 kHz and 436 MHz, respectively.     

Hybrid vertical‐cavity laser with lateral emission into a silicon waveguide

We experimentally demonstrate an optically‐pumped III‐V/Si vertical‐cavity laser with lateral emission into a silicon waveguide. This on‐chip hybrid laser comprises a distributed Bragg reflector, a III‐V active layer, and a high‐contrast grating reflector, which simultaneously funnels light into the waveguide integrated with the laser. This laser has the advantages of long‐wavelength vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting lasers, such as low threshold and high side‐mode suppression ratio, while allowing integration with silicon photonic circuits, and is fabricated using CMOS compatible processes. It has the potential for ultrahigh‐speed operation beyond 100 Gbit/s and features a novel mechanism for transverse mode control.

     

基于硅波导的喇曼光放大器

在硅波导上添加反向偏压的PIN结构,当波导产生受激喇曼散射时,可以将波导中双光子吸收(TPA)产生的光生自由载流子扫出波导,降低了波导的非线性损失,极大地提高了硅波导中泵浦光对信号光的喇曼增益。为了应用已经非常成熟的硅工艺,并且应用硅波导使器件小型化,根据法布里-帕罗(F-P)腔和行波放大器理论,在硅波导两端的解理面蒸镀增透膜,应用这种波导的喇曼效应设计了一种光放大器,即基于硅波导的喇曼光放大器。建立了计算放大器增益的方程,给出了不同波导长度和输入功率情况下的放大器增益,得出适当增加波导长度和泵浦光功率可以得到较高喇曼增益的结论。基于硅的光放大器有较高的饱和功率且没有泵浦源的限制,通过调整泵浦激光的波长可以放大不同波长的信号光。     

Below-band-gap waveguiding behaviors of a weakly index-guided GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well laser

We report the reduced waveguiding efficiency for the signals around 1560 nm as the injection current of an GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well laser diode (lasing wavelength at 840 nm) with a ridge-loading waveguide configuration increased. This reduction trend stopped when the injection current reached the threshold condition of the laser diode. The decreased waveguide transmission and the more expanded mode profile indicated the variation of the effective refractive index gradient in the lateral dimension with injection current. This variation was due to the refractive index decrease with increasing carrier density even below band gap. A slab waveguide model was used to simulate the lateral mode profile variation with injection current. The refractive index differences between the guiding layer and claddings in the slab waveguide model provided estimates of refractive index contrasts of the laser diode at a concerned wavelength under various injection conditions.     

Implementation of a novel low‐noise InGaAs detector enabling rapid near‐infrared multichannel Raman spectroscopy of pigmented biological samples

Pigmented tissues are inaccessible to Raman spectroscopy using visible laser light because of the high level of laser‐induced tissue fluorescence. The fluorescence contribution to the acquired Raman signal can be reduced by using an excitation wavelength in the near infrared range around 1000 nm. This will shift the Raman spectrum above 1100 nm, which is the principal upper detection limit for silicon‐based CCD detectors. For wavelengths above 1100 nm indium gallium arsenide detectors can be used. However, InGaAs detectors have not yet demonstrated satisfactory noise level characteristics for demanding Raman applications. We have tested and implemented for the first time a novel sensitive InGaAs imaging camera with extremely low readout noise for multichannel Raman spectroscopy in the short‐wave infrared (SWIR) region. The effective readout noise of two electrons is comparable to that of high quality CCDs and two orders of magnitude lower than that of other commercially available InGaAs detector arrays. With an in‐house built Raman system we demonstrate detection of shot‐noise limited high quality Raman spectra of pigmented samples in the high wavenumber region, whereas a more traditional excitation laser wavelength (671 nm) could not generate a useful Raman signal because of high fluorescence. Our Raman instrument makes it possible to substantially decrease fluorescence background and to obtain high quality Raman spectra from pigmented biological samples in integration times well below 20 s. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

同轴-三平板型水介质脉冲输出开关实验研究

设计了用于脉冲功率装置的4 MV水介质同轴 三平板型输出开关。该脉冲功率装置将由24路相同的独立模块组成，每路模块由Marx发生器、中间储能器、激光触发气体开关、脉冲形成线、水介质脉冲输出开关、脉冲传输线等组成。水介质脉冲输出开关是同轴 三平板结构水介质多通道自击穿开关，由输入输出电极、预脉冲屏蔽板和连接部件组成。进行了有预脉冲屏蔽板结构和无预脉冲屏蔽板结构的自击穿水开关实验研究。有预脉冲屏蔽板结构开关的输入、输出电极都是半球电极，直径分别是8 cm和5 cm；无预脉冲屏蔽板结构开关为针 板结构，输入电极为平板电极，输出电极为直径3 cm的电极棒。Marx发生器充电70 kV，开关的击穿电压为3 MV，放电电流为450 kA。在3 MV等级的击穿电压下，有预脉冲屏蔽板结构开关的抖动约6 ns，没有预脉冲屏蔽板结构开关的抖动减小至3 ns。     

Low‐dose ion implanted active waveguides in Nd3+ doped near‐stoichiometric lithium niobate: promising candidates for near infrared integrated laser

By applying low‐dose oxygen ion implantation, active planar waveguides in Nd³⁺ doped near‐stoichiometric lithium niobate laser crystals have been, for the first time to our knowledge, successfully produced. The waveguide exhibits good transmission properties with relatively low propagation loss of ～2 dB/cm. The confocal micro‐luminescence investigations indicate that the emission properties of Nd³⁺ ions in the waveguide are well preserved with respect to the bulk, thus showing promising potentials for efficient waveguide laser action operating at the Nd³⁺ near‐infrared bands. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Wavelength Tuning Characteristics of a Vertival Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Diode with an External Short Cavity

The characteristics of a wavelength tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode (VCSEL) with an external short cavity are analyzed, in which the oscillation wavelength can be changed over several tens of nanometers with a nearly constant optical power by slightly altering the external cavity length. Analysis is based on rate equations for the optical power and carrier density, taking the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change into consideration, together with the study of behaviors of a complex resonator. The reflection coefficient r₂ of a laser facet facing the external mirror is shown to affect notably the characteristics of wavelength tuning, optical power and carrier density for a change of the external cavity length. It is also noticed that the wavelength change for this length becomes slower with relatively larger r₂ due to an increasing contribution of the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change, within the optical gain spectrum of the laser diode.     

Laser‐pump/X‐ray‐probe experiments with electrons ejected from a Cu(111) target: space‐charge acceleration

A comprehensive investigation of the emission characteristics for electrons induced by X‐rays of a few hundred eV at grazing‐incidence angles on an atomically clean Cu(111) sample during laser excitation is presented. Electron energy spectra due to intense infrared laser irradiation are investigated at the BESSY II slicing facility. Furthermore, the influence of the corresponding high degree of target excitation (high peak current of photoemission) on the properties of Auger and photoelectrons liberated by a probe X‐ray beam is investigated in time‐resolved pump and probe measurements. Strong electron energy shifts have been found and assigned to space‐charge acceleration. The variation of the shift with laser power and electron energy is investigated and discussed on the basis of experimental as well as new theoretical results.