Design and analysis of a metallic waveguide with a DAST cap for continuously phase-matched terahertz difference frequency generation

We present a novel source for continuous terahertz (THz) wave generation using an organic ionic salt, 4-dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium-tosylate (DAST). THz waves are generated based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in the device. Phase matching condition and THz generation between 1.3 THz and 2.7 THz, for optical pump around 1.6 μm, are investigated. Our calculations predict that the device produces a relatively high THz output power of 11.07 μW from a 4 cm long waveguide at 2 THz.     

Enhancement of terahertz wave difference frequency generation based on a compact walk-off compensated KTP OPO

A compact, walk-off compensated dual-wavelength KTP OPO near the degenerate point of 2.128 μm pumped by a Nd:YAG pulsed laser is employed as the pump for terahertz (THz) source based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in a GaSe crystal. Coherent THz radiation that is continuously tunable in the range of 81-1617 μm (0.186-3.7 THz) is achieved. An enhancement of 76.7% in average for the THz energies at different wavelengths is realized using the walk-off compensated KTP OPO than the common one. Using a 8 mm-long GaSe crystal, the maximum output THz pulse energy is 48.9 nJ with the peak power of 11 W, corresponding to the energy conversion efficiency of 5.4 × 10^− 6 and the photon conversion efficiency of about 0.09%.     

Tunable terahertz generation from one CO2 laser in a GaSe crystal

Coherent terahertz pulses have been generated at a range of 236.3-1104.5 μm (0.27-1.3 THz) by one CO₂ laser with dual-wavelength output based on collinearly phase-matched different frequency generation (DFG) in a GaSe crystal. This source has the advantages of compact and simplicity for tuning. The output power of the THz pulse and phase-matching conditions were investigated. The maximum single pulse energy of 11 nJ was generated at a frequency of 1.23 THz (243.6 μm), corresponding to a peak output power 182 mW.     

A widely tunable (5-12.5 μm) continuous-wave mid-infrared laser spectrometer based on difference frequency generation in AgGaS2

A widely tunable (5-12.5 μm) continuous-wave (cw) mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser spectrometer based on difference frequency generation (DFG) by mixing an external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) with a Ti:Sapphire laser in an AgGaS₂ crystal is described. The wide tunability was achieved by tuning laser wavelength associated with crystal angle tuning under type II phase matching condition. A maximum output power of about 66 nW was obtained at 8.06 μm. High resolution spectrum of methane (CH₄) over more than 10 cm⁻¹ near 7.7 μm has been recorded to evaluate the performance of the developed DFG-based mid-IR laser spectrometer.     

Mid-infrared tunable dual-wavelength generation based on a quasi-phase-matched optical parametric oscillator

We report an efficient optical parametric oscillator (OPO) of dual idler wave output based on periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃ with a periodically-phase-reversed grating structure, which is pumped by a Q-switched 1.064 μm laser with a repetition rate of 50 kHz. 0.98 W of dual idler-waves at 3.824 μm and 3.731 μm is achieved at room temperature, leading to a 12.9% conversion efficiency. The crystal temperature tuning provides output tunability of the dual idler wavelengths. In addition, the sum frequency generation of the dual signal waves is simultaneously observed in the OPO cavity.     

High-efficiency continuous-wave and Q-switched diode-end-pumped multi-wavelength Nd:YAG lasers

We demonstrate high-efficiency diode-end-pumped multi-wavelength Nd:YAG lasers for continuous-wave and Q-switched operation. For the continuous-wave case, the Nd:YAG laser oscillates at 1.06 and 1.3 μm simultaneously; the maximum output power of 2.0 W (M² = 1.3) and 3.6 W (M² = 1.8) have been achieved at the incident pump power of 20.3 W, with the respective average slope efficiencies of 12.0% and 21.4%, for the lines of 1.06 and 1.3 μm, respectively. For the Q-switched operation, we achieve the average output power of 1.3 W (M² = 2.7) at 1.06 μm and 2.0 W (M² = 3.0) at 1.3 μm with the corresponding peak power of 10.2 and 4.2 kW under an incident pump power of 20.3 W.     

A multiband absorber based on multipolar plasmon excitation

We report a multiband absorber with a top-layer grating structure based on the multipolar plasmon excitation. The simulation results show that the absorber has three distinctive absorption peaks originated from multipolar plasmon excitation at wavelengths λ = 0.576 μm, λ = 0.760 μm and λ = 5.630 μm with the absorption magnitudes more than 0.86, 0.96 and 0.99, respectively. The multipolar plasmon excitation can be described by surface plasmon standing waves.     

Efficient Nd:YAG pumped mid-IR laser based on cascaded KTP and ZGP optical parametric oscillators and a ZGP parametric amplifier

Efficient conversion into the mid-IR of a low pulse-energy (2.5 mJ) Nd:YAG laser is achieved by cascaded KTiOPO₄ (KTP) and ZnGeP₂ (ZGP) optical parametric oscillators followed by a ZGP optical parametric amplifier. The first stage 2.13 μm degenerate KTP OPO uses four KTP crystals in a walk-off compensated geometry and an elliptical pump beam focal geometry to produce up to 2.2 W from 6.3 W incident. The 2.13 μm e-ray pumps a Type-I ZGP OPO, which produces 0.5 W of light in the 3.8-4.8 μm spectral region that in turn is amplified by a 2.13 μm o-ray pumped optical parametric amplifier generating 0.84 W with an M² of <2.     

Temperature phase-matching properties of mixed chalcopyrite AgGa1−xInxS2 crystal

AgGa_1−xIn_xS₂ with x = 0.14 ± 0.01 was found to be 90° phase-matchable for the second harmonic generation (SHG) of CO₂ laser radiation at 10.591 μm at 203 °C. In addition, temperature-tuned 90° phase-matched difference frequency generation (DFG) at 4.02 μm was demonstrated by mixing the idler output of a Nd:YAG third harmonic pumped β-BBO optical parametric oscillator and its fundamental source at 1.0642 μm. The Sellmeier and thermo-optic dispersion formulas that reproduce well these experimental data are presented.     

Widely phase-matched tunable difference-frequency generation in periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal

We report on the development of a laser source in the mid-infrared spectral region based on difference-frequency generation (DFG) in a periodically poled LiNbO₃ (PPLN) crystal. Continuously tunable coherent radiation from 2.75 to 4.78 μm was produced by optical parametric interaction between a diode-pumped monolithic continuous-wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.064 μm and a CW Ti:Sapphire laser tunable from 767 to 871 nm. Temperature-dependent quasi-phase-matched DFG wavelength acceptance bandwidth was studied and characterized. An empiric formula is given to estimate the phase-matched wavelength acceptance bandwidth as a function of the crystal temperature at Λ = 22.5 μm. A large frequency scan of 128 cm⁻¹ (about 78 cm⁻¹ above 1 μW) near 4.2 μm was achieved. The whole absorption spectrum of the P and R branches of the ν₃ band of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been recorded with a single phase-matched frequency scan.     

Yellow light generation by frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

We demonstrate the generation of TEM₀₀ mode yellow light in critically type II phase-matched KTiOPO₄ (KTP) with intracavity frequency doubling of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser at room temperature. After a 150 μm thick etalon have been inserted into the cavity, the stability and beam quality of the second harmonic generation (SHG) is enhanced. A continuous wave (CW) TEM₀₀ mode output power of 1.67 W at 556 nm is obtained at a pump level of 16 W. The total optical to optical conversion efficiency is about 10.44%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Watt-level yellow light generation by frequency doubling of Nd:YAG laser.     

Tunable mid-IR laser absorption sensor for time-resolved hydrocarbon fuel measurements

A wavelength-tunable mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser is used to make time-resolved absorption measurements of methyl-cyclohexane (MCH) and n-dodecane vapor concentration, demonstrating the use of this novel laser source for sensing hydrocarbon fuels. Two sensitive and species-specific diagnostic strategies are investigated: (1) direct absorption at a fixed wavelength, and (2) dual-wavelength differential absorption with two rapidly-alternating wavelengths. The tunable laser light is produced using difference frequency generation by combining two near-infrared diode lasers in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal, providing a continuous-wave (cw), room temperature mid-IR source with the low intensity noise, and rapid wavelength tunability typical of telecommunications diode lasers. Direct absorption measurements of MCH with a wavelength of 3413.7 nm demonstrate fast time response (1 μs) and low noise in cell (300-675 K) and shock tube (650-1450 K) experiments. The detection limits of MCH range from 0.5 ppm-m at 300 K to 11 ppm-m at 1440 K (pressure = 101 kPa). Next, time-division multiplexing is used to alternately generate two mid-IR wavelengths at 20 kHz, enabling the use of dual-wavelength differential absorption to eliminate interference absorption. Measurements of MCH concentration are first made in a cell, with varying amounts of n-heptane interference absorption. Accurate values of MCH concentration are obtained for n-heptane/MCH ratios as high as 15, demonstrating the utility of this sensor for species-specific hydrocarbon detection in systems with interfering absorption. Finally, time-resolved n-dodecane vapor concentration measurements are made in a shock-heated evaporating aerosol. The dual-wavelength differential absorption diagnostic is sensitive only to the vapor concentration, rejecting droplet extinction. These measurements illustrate the power of the differential absorption strategy for sensitive vapor-phase detection in the presence of particle scattering. The tunability of this new source will allow these concepts to be extended to other hydrocarbon fuels.     

Particulate assisted growth of ZnO nanorods and microrods by pulsed laser deposition

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on the gallium nitride (GaN) and sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) without using any metal catalyst. The experiment was carried out at three different laser wavelengths of Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1064 nm, λ = 532 nm) and KrF excimer laser (λ = 248 nm). The ZnO films grown at λ = 532 nm revealed the presence of ZnO nanorods and microrods. The diameter of the rods varies from 250 nm to 2 μm and the length varies between 9 and 22 μm. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the rods revealed the absence of frozen balls at the tip of the ZnO rods. The growth of ZnO rods has been explained by vapor-solid (V-S) mechanism. The origin of growth of ZnO rods has been attributed to the ejection of micrometric and sub-micrometric sized particulates from the ZnO target. The ZnO films grown at λ = 1064 nm and λ = 248 nm do not show the rod like morphology. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has not shown the presence of any impurity except zinc and oxygen.     

Microstructural and magnetic properties of thick (≥10 μm) magnetron sputtered barium ferrite films

This work focuses on the properties of 10-15 μm thick barium M-type hexaferrite (BaFe₁₂O₁₉ or BaM) films deposited by non-reactive RF magnetron sputtering on alumina substrates. High deposition rates were achieved through deposition at room temperature and operation at an RF power of 100 W. By varying sputtering gas pressure, the dc magnetic properties were correlated with structural, morphological and compositional properties obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), respectively. A deposition pressure of P=3 Pa enables one to reach the best compromise between high deposition rate (0.75 μm/h) and adequate crystallographic, stoichiometric and magnetostatic properties. Finally the gyromagnetic properties at high frequency were assessed through the characterization of coplanar isolator up to 60 GHz. As such, hexaferrite films prepared using this technique may offer opportunities for the next generation of self-biased planar microwave devices.     

Modified grating-based external cavity diode laser for simultaneous dual-wavelengths operation

We have reported a modified V-shaped external cavity, which is constructed around a commercial diode laser operating at a center wavelength of λ=785 nm by adding a new coated glass plate with about 50% reflectivity to the cavity. This allows simultaneous dual-wavelengths operation in the vicinity of Δν_min=0.18 THz to Δν_max=0.22 THz, which can be used as laser source for terahertz generation either for semiconductor devices or nonlinear schemes.     

Numerical analysis of long wavelength infrared HgCdTe photodiodes

We present a detailed investigation of the performance limiting factors of long and very long wavelength infrared (LWIR and VLWIR) p on n Hg_1−xCd_xTe detectors through numerical simulations at 77 K incorporating all considerable generation-recombination (G-R) mechanisms including trap assisted tunneling (TAT), Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), Auger and radiative processes. The results identify the relative strengths of the dark current generation mechanisms by numerically extracting the contribution of each G-R mechanism to the detector characteristics with various cut-off wavelengths (λ_c) and practically achievable material parameters.The results show that the dominant sensitivity degrading trap level depends on the detector cut-off wavelength being ∼0.7E_g for LWIR HgCdTe sensors (λ_c = ∼10 μm) instead of 0.5E_g which is generally believed to be the most efficient R-G level. TAT related 1/f noise dominates the sensor noise even under small reverse bias voltages at a trap density as low as 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ for sensors with λ_c > 11 μm. Considering the fact that trap densities below this level are rarely reported for HgCdTe material, exceptionally trap-free material is required to achieve desirable imaging performance with these sensors. Simulation results show that Auger mechanism has twofold effect on the sensitivity of the sensor by increasing the dark current and decreasing the photo current of the detector.     

Intracavity frequency doubling of an active Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with 2.25 W output power at 473 nm

An active Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YAG laser is reported with 2.9 W output power on the ⁴F_3/2 → ⁴I_9/2 transitions at a pump power of 24 W. With intracavity frequency doubling using a 20-mm-long LBO, a maximum blue output power of 2.25 W is achieved at a repetition rate of 23 kHz. The conversion efficiency from the corresponding Q-switched fundamental output to blue output is 96%. The peak power of the Q-switched blue pulse is up to 610 W with 160 ns pulse width. The fluctuation of the blue output power is less than 4.0% at the maximum output power.     

Defect assisted subwavelength resolution in III-V semiconductor photonic crystal flat lenses with n = −1

We propose a III-V semiconductor photonic crystal slab designed to operate as a n = −1 superlens at λ₀ = 1.55 μm. The structure consists of air holes arranged in a two-dimensional triangular lattice, of period a, nanopatterned in an InP/InGaAsP/InP slab. Exploiting the second pass-band regime (a/λ₀ ∼ 0.31), subwavelength resolutions as low as 0.38λ₀ for planar lenses have been obtained by the insertion of hexagonal nanocavities within the crystal.     

Cascaded continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator pumped by a single-frequency fiber laser

We present a cascaded continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) delivering idler output in mid-IR and terahertz frequency range. The SRO was pumped by an ytterbium-doped fiber laser with 27 W linear polarization pump powers, and based on periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃ crystal (PPMgLN) in two-mirror linear cavity. The PPMgLN is 50 mm long with 29.5 μm period. The idler power output at 3811 nm was obtained 2.6 W. The additional spectral components that have been attributed to cascaded optical parametric processes are described at increasing pump levels. Besides the initial signal component at about 1476.8 nm, further generated wavelengths with frequency shifts about 47 cm^?1, 94 cm^?1 and 104 cm^?1 were observed. It was speculated that the idler waves lie in the terahertz (THz) domain from the observed results.     

Effect of thickness and porous structure of SiC layers on the spectral response of the Pd/SiC-pSi Schottky photodiodes

In this work, we study the effect of the thickness and porous structure of silicon carbide (PSC) layers on the electrical properties of Schottky photodiodes by using a palladium (Pd) layer deposited on non-porous silicon carbide (SiC) and porous-SiC (PSC) layers. The non-porous and porous-SiC layers were realized on a p-type silicon (Si(1 0 0)) substrate by pulsed laser deposition using a KrF laser (248 nm) and thermal deposition of a thin Pd layer. The porous structure of the SiC layer deposited was developed by an electrochemical (anodization) method. The electrical measurements were made at room temperature (295 K) in an air ambience. The effect of the porous surface structure and the thickness of the SiC layer were investigated by evaluating electrical parameters such as the ideality factor (n) and barrier height (?_Bp). The thickness of the porous layer significantly affects the electrical properties of the Schottky photodiodes. Analysis of current-voltage (I-V) characteristics showed that the forward current might be described by a classical thermal emission theory. The ideality factor determined by the I-V characteristics was found to be dependent on the SiC thickness a value For a thin SiC layer (0.16 μm) n was around 1.325 with a barrier height 0.798 eV, while for a thick layer (1.6 μm), n and ?_Bp were 1.026 and 0.890 eV, respectively for Pd/SiC-pSi. These results indicate Schottky photodiodes with high performance are obtained for thicker SiC layer and for thin layer of PSC. This effect showed the uniformity of the SiC layer. In the same case the ideality factor (n) decreases for Pd/PSC-pSi(1 0 0) for low SiC thickness by report of Pd/PSC-pSi(1 0 0) Schottky photodiodes, but for Pd/PSC-pSi(1 0 0) n increase for large SiC thickness layer. We notice that the barrier height (?_Bp) was reversely depend by report of ideality factor. A spectral response value of (SR) of 34 mA/W at λ = 400 nm was measured for Pd/0.16 μm SiC-pSi Schottky photodiode with low SiC thickness. On the other hand, a value of SR = 0.14 mA/W at λ = 900 nm was obtained when we used PSC layer (Pd/PSC-pSi(1 0 0)). A reverse behaviour occurs for thicker SiC layer. Finally, it was found that the thickness and surface porous structure have strong effect on sensitivity.