Effect of inter-level relaxation and cavity length on double-state lasing performance of quantum dot lasers

Double-state lasing phenomena are easily observed in self-assembled quantum dot (QD) lasers. The effect of inter-level relaxation rate and cavity length on the double-state lasing performance of QD lasers is investigated on the basis of a rate equation model. Calculated results show that, for a certain cavity length, the ground state (GS) lasing threshold current increases almost linearly with the inter-level relaxation lifetime. However, as the relaxation rate becomes slower, the ratio of excited state (ES) lasing threshold current over the GS one decreases, showing an evident exponential behavior. A relatively feasible method to estimate the inter-level relaxation lifetime, which is difficult to measure directly, is provided. In addition, fast inter-level relaxation is favorable for the GS single-mode lasing, and leads to lower wetting layer (WL) carrier occupation probability and higher QD GS capture efficiency and external differential quantum efficiency. Besides, the double-state lasing effect strongly depends on the cavity length.     

Synchronization of quantum cascade lasers with mutual optoelectronic coupling

In this study, the operating conditions to obtain complete synchronization in two quantum cascade lasers with mutual optoelectronic coupling are analyzed. Synchronization properties and the effect of parameter mismatches on synchronization quality are investigated. The present simulation shows that the complete synchronization can be realized under suitable system parameters. The results of the present simulation indicate that the significant effects of coupling strength, photon lifetime and gain stages number on the synchronization quality. On the other hand, the present results indicate that the insignificant effect of the feedback delay time, the coupling delay time and the synchronization can occur at any delay-time conditions (DTCs).     

位移效应对量子点激光器的性能影响

从理论上分析了位移效应对量子点激光器的影响, 并推导了量子点激光器阈值电流相对变化、输出功率相对变化的位移损伤公式. 对量子点激光器进行了中子辐照实验, 观察到了阈值电流的增加. 结合实验结果确定了量子点载流子非辐射复合速率的损伤因子的表达式, 公式计算结果与实验结果符合较好, 证明了模型的正确性. 得到的公式可用于预测量子点激光器在辐射环境下的性能变化, 有着较大实际应用价值. 关键词： 量子点激光器 位移损伤 缺陷     

Room temperature CW lasing operation of monolithically grown 1.55 μm vertical external cavity surface emitting laser

We report room temperature (20 °C) continuous-wave operation of 1.55 μm vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers. The optically pumped monolithic InP-based structure, grown by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition, includes a InP/InGaAsP Bragg reflector, and an active region with strain compensated quantum wells. Output power up to 4 mW is obtained at 0 °C. The thermal impedance of the structure is deduced from the experimental data.     

First room temperature lasing from the fundamental state of V-grooved quantum wire lasers

Lasing from the ground state electron and heavy-hole-like transition of quantum wire (QWR) is demonstrated for the first time at room temperature, with an oxide-isolated V-grooved GaAs/AlGaAs triple QWR laser grown by flow-rate modulation epitaxy (FME). The lasing peaks at all temperatures (4–300 K) are in reasonably good agreement with both the photon energies of the peaks of the photoluminescence curves and the numerical calculation of the electronic sub-band energy states of the corresponding QWR structure. These results are considered to be responsible for the reduced heterointerface inhomogeneities (the Stokes shift 0.3 meV) of the FME grown QWR, giving a low-loss wave guide in the QWR laser.     

随机性对部分随机介质激光器阈值的影响

基于速率方程和Maxwell方程相结合的模型，采用时域有限差分法(FDTD)研究了介质的随机性和层数对部分随机介质激光器阈值的影响.模拟结果显示，当抽运速率超过阈值时，出现一个或者多个振荡模；随机性或者系统的尺度增加时，振荡模数量也增加；部分随机介质激光器的阈值在一定的随机强度和层数下将达到最小值，它与完全随机情况下的结论有所不同.对所得到的结论给出了物理解释.这些结果对于制作随机激光器和光集成潜在应用价值. 关键词： 激光物理 随机激光器 阈值 时域有限差分法     

大幅度增加弛豫振荡频率来实现毫米级外腔半导体激光器的外腔机制转换

混沌外腔半导体激光器输出明显存在弛豫振荡特征,弛豫振荡频率小于外腔振荡频率时,外腔半导体激光器输出态是短腔机制;反之,外腔半导体激光器输出态是长腔机制.首先对比分析了弛豫振荡频率为5.6 GHz,腔长对频谱有效带宽的影响.然后同时调节注入电流和载流子寿命来大幅度地增加弛豫振荡频率.最后在弛豫振荡频率为40 GHz、腔长为毫米级(4—20 mm)时,实现由短腔机制到长腔机制的转换,进而分析了外腔反馈率和外腔长对外腔半导体激光器频谱带宽的影响.分析结果表明:短腔机制下,输出混沌态不稳定,0.1 mm的偏差就会导致混沌态与非混沌态之间的转化;长腔机制下,输出混沌态稳定,输出混沌区域较大,证明长腔机制下更有益于获得宽带连续的混沌区域.在弛豫振荡频率为40 GHz、外腔长度为毫米级时,实现了外腔半导体激光器的长腔机制,从而增大了高带宽混沌的参数空间.     

InAs–GaAs self-assembled quantum dot lasers: physical processes and device characteristics

The gain characteristics of InAs–GaAs self-assembled quantum dot lasers are studied using two complementary techniques. The modal gain is derived from a measurement of the normal incidence, inter-band photoconductivity. For a device containing a single layer of dots the maximum modal gain of the ground state transition is found to be insufficient for lasing action. As a consequence lasing occurs for excited state transitions, which have a larger oscillator strength, with the precise transition being dependent upon the device cavity length. The second technique uses the Hakki–Paoli method to determine the spectral and current dependence of the gain. A quasi-periodic modulation of the below threshold gain is observed. This modulation is shown to be responsible for the form of the lasing spectra, which consist of groups of lasing modes separated by non-lasing spectral regions. Possible mechanisms for this behaviour are discussed.     

Impact of gain compression on modulation response and dynamic properties of three state lasing InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers

In this paper, we have theoretically studied dynamics of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) laser for enhancing its small signal and large signal modulation as a function of compression gain. We have considered InGaAs/GaAs QD laser rate equations and solved this equation system numerically. We have revealed that a diminution in compression gain leads to an improvement in frequency bandwidth for this three state lasing system. We also have calculated turn on delay and output power that obviously indicates the effect of compression gain on relaxation oscillations.     

Mode-locked performance of hybrid soliton pulse source utilizing fiber grating external cavity lasers

Mode-locking characteristic of hybrid soliton pulse source (HSPS) utilizing linearly chirped raised-cosine flat top apodized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is investigated by using coupled-mode equations. It is found that the fundamental repetition frequency range of HSPS is significantly extended by using linearly chirped raised-cosine flat top apodized FBG instead of linearly chirped Gaussian apodized FBG. The range of repetition frequencies over which proper mode-locking is obtained is 2-3.3 GHz with linearly chirped raised-cosine flat top apodized grating whereas this range is 2.1-2.95 GHz with linearly chirped Gaussian apodized grating.     

Complete rate equation modelling of quantum cascade lasers for the analysis of temperature effects

The effect of temperature on the dynamics of a GaAs-based quantum cascade laser (QCL) is analysed using a complete rate equation model. The analytical expressions for the threshold current density and the output power are derived using the model and the thermal behaviour of these parameters is examined. A better conformity of the threshold current density with experiment at higher temperatures is achieved. The effect of temperature on the 3 dB optical bandwidth is further investigated using the same model. A comparative analysis of the model is performed with the recently reported rate equation models. It is observed that the 3 dB optical bandwidth falls more rapidly at higher operating temperatures that highlight the effects of leakage and backscattering processes present in the device.     

Nanostructure model and optical properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dot in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

We apply 8-band k.p model to study InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). The strain was calculated using the valence force field (VFF) model which includes the four nearest-neighbour interactions. For the optical properties, we take into account both homogeneous and non-homogeneous broadening for the optical spectrum. Our simulation result is in good agreement with the experimental micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) result which is from InAs/GaAs QD vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) structure wafer at room temperature. Accordingly, our simulation model is used to predict the QD emission from this QD-VCSELs structure wafer at different temperature ranging from 200–400 K. The simulation results show a decrease of 41 meV of QD ground state (GS) transition energy from 250–350 K. The changes of QDGS transition energy with different temperature indicate the possible detuning range for 1.3-μm wave band QD-VCSELs applications without temperature control. Furthermore, QD differential gain at 300 K is computed based on this model, which will be useful for predicting the intrinsic modulation characteristics of QD-VCSELs.     

Effect of laser radiation on optical properties of disk shaped quantum dot in magnetic fields

The optical absorption coefficients and changes in the refractive index in GaAs/AlGaAs, disk shaped quantum dots (DSQD) with simultaneously applied laser and magnetic field are studied in detail. The use of the density matrix formalism is made to study the variations in linear and non-linear polarizability with the frequency of the electric field. It is found that the absorption coefficient and the refractive index changes depend not only on the optical wave but also on the strength of the static magnetic field.     

Enhancement of the Kerr effect for a quantum dot in a cavity

Nonlinear susceptibility of a quantum dot (QD) embedded in a two-sided cavity, is studied theoretically from a weak-coupling to a strong-coupling regime. In the relevance of a quantum logic gate, the corresponding nonlinear phase shifts (Kerr effect) are estimated for coherent wavepackets including one photon on average. In the weak-coupling regime, the phase shift enhances strongly as a function of a coupling constant between the cavity photon and QD, and eventually saturates in the strong-coupling regime. We also show transmission spectra to evaluate the efficiency of the phase shift. Although the efficiency decreases monotonically in the weak-coupling regime, it rises in the strong-coupling regime.     

光子晶体垂直腔面发射激光器的电流分布研究

对氧化限制型外腔式光子晶体垂直腔面发射激光器注入到有源区的电流密度分布进行了分析研究.提出三维电流分布计算模型,研究了光子晶体结构对电流密度分布和器件串联电阻的影响.研究发现,光子晶体孔刻蚀深度越深,电流分布圆对称性越差,引起的串联电阻越大.不同光子晶体图案对电流分布的均匀性和圆对称性也有很大的影响.该模型对于研究、设计氧化限制型外腔式光子晶体垂直腔面发射激光器提供了一个有用的分析方法.     

电子关联效应对平行双量子点系统磁输运性质的影响

从理论上研究了平行双量子点系统中的电子关联效应对该系统磁输运性质的影响. 基于广义主方程方法, 计算了通过此系统的电流、微分电导和隧穿磁阻. 计算结果表明: 电子自旋关联效应可以促发一个很大的隧穿磁阻, 而电子库仑关联效应不仅可以压制电子自旋关联效应, 还可以导致负隧穿磁阻和负微分电导的出现. 对相关的基本物理问题进行了讨论.     

Effect of spontaneously generated coherence on inversionless lasing gain in an atomic system with Doppler broadening

We have studied the effect of the spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) on gain of lasing without inversion (LWI) in a closed three-level $\Lambda $-type atomic system with Doppler broadening. It is shown that, regardless of the driving and probe fields being co- or counter-propagating, at a suitable value of the Doppler width, we can obtain a much larger LWI gain with SGC than that without SGC; and the region of the LWI gain spectrum with SGC is obviously larger than that without SGC. When the Doppler width takes a constant value, the gain does not monotonically decrease or increase with increasing strength of SGC, the largest LWI gain can be obtained by adjusting strength of SGC. Generally speaking, the co-propagating probe and driving fields is favourable to obtain a larger LWI gain.     

A simple method to determine the thermal focal length of solid-state lasers with rate equation

A simple method to measure the thermal focal length of solid-state laser with rate equation was presented. By measuring the output beam power of lasers, the beam waist of oscillating wave can be deduced from rate equation under the stable oscillation condition. Based on the ABCD matrix theory, the thermal focus of the gain medium was easily obtained. The thermal focus of a LD end-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ laser was measured and the experimental results agreed with the theoretical predication.     

生长方向对量子点应变与应变弛豫的影响

由于材料弹性的各向异性与表面能的各向异性, 不同的生长方向或生长面, 量子点有不同的力学性能与行为. 本文基于各向异性弹性理论的有限元方法, 以金字塔型自组织InAs/GaAs半导体量子点为研究对象, 分别在7个常见的生长方向或生长面上, 对其应变能和应变弛豫能、自由能等进行了分析计算, 得到了这些能量随生长方向的变化规律. 结果表明(211)量子点应变弛豫能最大, 而(100)量子点应变弛豫能最小. 这些结果可为可控制备量子点提供理论参考. 关键词： 量子点 生长方向 平衡形态 应变弛豫