Pulse energy gain saturation in subpico- and picosecond pulseamplification by a traveling-wave semiconductor laser amplifier

Optical pulses with durations ranging from 0.49 to 21 ps are amplified by a traveling-wave semiconductor laser amplifier. The pulse energy gain is determined by pulse energy only. The dependence of pulse energy gain on output pulse energy does not change in the pulse duration range. The saturation characteristics are successfully explained by a four-level system model     

Four-wave mixing in a semiconductor laser amplifier

Reports on nearly degenerate four-wave mixing (NDFWM) of two copropagating light waves inside a travelling wave amplifier (1.3 μm) at input light powers of less than 10 μW. It describes the first experimental determination of the range of frequency spacing of the two light waves for efficient NDFWM and of the dependence on the state of polarisation     

Improvement of saturation output power in a semiconductor laser amplifier through pumping light injection

Pumping light injection for semiconductor laser amplifiers is proposed as an effective way to improve their saturation output power. An experiment demonstrates 4.9 dB improvement in saturation output power for 1546 nm signal light using 1480 nm pumping light.     

抑制高峰值功率皮秒激光放大系统Nd:YAG中的自聚焦效应

全固态皮秒放大器的平均输出功率易受到增益晶体中自聚焦效应的影响。通过引入补偿元件砷化镓（GaAs）片可以避免自聚焦效应造成的损伤,关于砷化镓的抑制机理对高峰值功率Nd:YAG晶体皮秒放大器系统的进行理论分析和实验研究。以公式计算得到了GaAs材料的非线性折射率系数,并由数值模拟给出了在抑制自聚焦的最佳效果下GaAs片厚度与Nd:YAG棒长度的关系。在入射皮秒激光束中心波长为1 064 nm、重复频率为1 kHz、峰值功率密度为12 GW/cm2的条件下,进行了不同厚度（200 m和550 m） GaAs片对抑制Nd:YAG棒自聚焦损伤的实验研究。通过优化GaAs片的厚度,该补偿方法在高峰值功率皮秒脉冲条件下,特别是对于Nd:YAG放大器显示出较高的效率。关键词:自聚焦效应;非线性折射率系数;光学损伤; B积分     

SLALOM: semiconductor laser amplifier in a loop mirror

The processing of optical signals in the optical domain is an important issue resulting from the desire to take advantage of the full bandwidth of the optical fiber. In this paper, we present detailed investigations on a device, which utilizes a semiconductor laser amplifier in a loop mirror configuration (SLALOM). Different modes of operation are reported like nonlinear single pulse switching and two-pulse switching at different operation speeds (1-100 Gb/s). Furthermore, a number of applications of the SLALOM in photonic systems, like pulse shaping, decoding, retiming and time-division demultiplexing, are presented. In addition, the SLALOM can be used for an estimate of the linewidth enhancement factor α and the carrier lifetime τ _e in an SLA     

Crosstalk and its power penalty in multichannel transmission due togain saturation in a semiconductor laser amplifier

A theoretical study of channel crosstalk due to gain saturation in a laser amplifier in multichannel transmission is discussed. When the amplifier is gain-saturated, the gain of any channel is influenced by the light intensity of the other channels, which causes channel crosstalk in intensity-modulated multiplexing transmission. On-off-keying modulation systems with more than two channels are discussed. Considering the probability distribution, the power penalty due to crosstalk is presented for practical system design. Calculated examples reveal that the power penalty is dependent on both the level of gain saturation and the number of multiplexed channels     

Generation and wavelength switching of picosecond pulses by optically modulating a semiconductor optical amplifier in a fiber laser with optical delay line

A novel actively mode-locked fiber laser having a semiconductor optical amplifier playing the roles of both a gain element and an optically controlled mode-locker and eight cascaded fiber Bragg gratings playing the role of the wavelength selecting element is proposed and demonstrated. Stable amplitude equalized pulse trains with a pulsewidth about 43 ps at 2.5 GHz have been obtained by injecting optical control signals into the laser. Wavelength switching among eight wavelengths is achieved by merely tuning an intracavity optical delay line. This all-optical generation and wavelength-switching scheme should be useful in applications where picosecond pulse trains at high repetition rates are desired.     

Crosstalk between intensity-modulated wavelength-divisionmultiplexed signals in a semiconductor laser amplifier

The performance of a 1.5-μm Fabry-Perot type laser amplifier having two input signals at different wavelengths is experimentally studied. Crosstalk between the two signals at the output of the amplifier is measured. The crosstalk is strongly dependent on the input powers and on the signal gain, and is found to be very sensitive to the relative wavelengths of the input signals. The crosstalk can be either positive or negative, depending on the wavelength offsets. A theoretical model taking gain saturation and wavelength shift of the amplifier spectrum into account is shown to explain the experimental results well. Using this model, some general aspects on crosstalk in semiconductor laser amplifiers are discussed     

Gain saturation dependence on signal wavelength in a travelling-wave semiconductor laser amplifier

Gain saturation dependence on signal wavelength in a 1.5 ?m InGaAsP travelling-wave semiconductor laser amplifier is experimentally studied. Saturation output powers were 6.9dBm, 8.3dBm and 10.6dBm for signal wavelengths of 1490 nm, 1510 nm and 1540 nm, respectively. This saturation dependence on wavelength, i.e. higher saturation output power for longer signal wavelength, results from signal gain peak shift towards longer wavelength with increasing input power.     

High-peak-power picosecond optical pulse generation from Q-switched bow-tie laser with a tapered traveling wave amplifier

Picosecond optical pulse amplification along with spatial mode filtering has been demonstrated, using a tapered traveling wave semiconductor post-amplifier and multicontact Q-switched bow-tie laser. Optical pulses of 13 ps duration were generated with a single-lobed, near diffraction-limited radiation pattern. Peak powers of 44.7 W, and pulse energies as high as 0.58 nJ were observed.     

Automatic frequency control in a semiconductor laser and an optical amplifier

Automatic frequency control (AFC) in an injection locked or resonant type amplifier in an AlGaAs semiconductor laser was achieved through using the terminal voltage change induced by light injection. Signal-to-noise ratio in the control signal of 10 dB was obtained when the input optical power was -47 dBm and the optical gain Was 51 dB. The AFC was maintained for 3 h with an 0.3-percent output power fluctuation for 2°C ambient temperature change and 65-MHz frequency stability. Step response showed that the system response time was 1.5 s. Sensitivity to input optical power deteriorates at -49 dBm, with a 53-dB locking gain, because of frequency deviation caused by temperature modulation. The second derivative of the induced voltage and it's relation to the optical frequency is constant at5 times 10^{-10}[V/(MHz)²] for all input power levels in a buried-heterostructure (BH)-AlGaAs laser. Terminal voltage change induced by light injection is calculated by simple rate equations with a Gaussian-Halperin-Lax (GHL) bandtail model. Good agreement with experimental results was seen.     

Direct streak-camera observation of picosecond gain-switched optical pulses from a 1.5 ?m semiconductor laser

For the first time a streak camera has been used to observe picosecond pulses generated at 1.5 ?m wavelength by an injection laser without the use of frequency-doubling techniques in the detection system. Gain-switched pulses of 11 ps halfwidth have been observed, and hitherto unmeasured pulse delay data have been obtained. The observed pulse widths are believed to be the shortest yet generated using 1.5 ?m diode lasers.     

High-speed all-optical gate switching experiment in a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser amplifier

Optical gate switching for one signal beam using another control beam is presented in a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser amplifier. High-speed switching, where the signal output is on without the control beam and off with it, is demonstrated employing modulation of an 800 Mbit/s pulse pattern.     

Optical bistability and nonlinear resonance in a resonant-type semiconductor laser amplifier

We report here on the first observation of hysteresis in the asymmetrical tuning curve of a semiconductor laser operating as a resonant-type amplifier. This bistable amplification resulting from a nonlinear resonance phenomenon is caused by the dependence of the refractive index on the injected carrier density.     

Complex time series from a modulated semiconductor laser: itsdeterminism exploration

A singular value decomposition (SVD) eigenvalue spectrum is employed to explore the deterministic nature of the complex time series from a modulated semiconductor laser. With this method, the signature of chaos can be quickly identified and the noise contamination ratio can also be estimated. Relations between the supplied modulation of laser diode and the noise level are illustrated. The connection between relative intensity noise and the noise floor in the SVD spectrum has also been clarified     

Linewidth broadening in a distributed feedback laser integrated with a semiconductor optical amplifier

The problem of the linewidth degradation in systems using distributed-feedback lasers together with strained-layer multi-quantum-well semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) is examined. A modified expression for the linewidth in the case of anti reflection-coated SOA output facets is derived and simulation results are given in the case of output facets with a nonvanishing reflectivity. A numerical model combining finite-element calculations in the transverse x-y plane and a longitudinal model based on the Green's function method is used for that purpose.     

Investigation of semiconductor optical amplifier integrated with DBR laser for high saturation power and fast gain dynamics

A detailed theoretical investigation of an integration of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser is presented. The dependence of the device performance on those key design parameters such as the lasing wavelength, light injection direction (co- and contra-propagation), lasing power of the DBR laser, and the biasing condition of the SOA is examined systematically by means of a comprehensive time-domain traveling-wave model. As this integrated structure is particularly designed for high saturation power and fast gain dynamics, these characteristics are simulated and compared with the results from the conventional structures. Depending on different requirements, superior performance on either saturation power or noise figure without compromise on the optical gain can be achieved by different integration configurations (i.e., by different light injection directions). For the structure with the light injection from the output end of the SOA (namely, the integrated SOA-laser structure), the fast gain dynamics is found through simulation, which helps to reduce the large-signal waveform distortion in the amplification of narrow pulses.     

A model for predicting the power delay profile characteristicsinside a room

Multipath effects in indoor wireless communication systems exhibit a characteristic power delay profile (PDP) and can be a detriment to the system's performance. We present a simplified model for calculating the decay rate of the PDP for propagation within rooms. This simplified model provides a time-efficient means of predicting system performance. Predictions of this in-room PDP model are compared to results obtained from a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) model. Additionally, comparisons of the IPDP model to measured data are presented. The RMS delay spread is the second central moment of the PDP of a propagation channel and is a measure of the communication link degradation due to multipath. We also show results of the estimated RMS delay spread from this model and show comparisons to the measured data. This IPDP model can be used to investigate the effects of variable room size and properties of the surfaces (or walls) on the decay characteristics of the PDP     

Small-scale self-focusing effects in a high power glass laser amplifier

Experimental data and the results of detailed numerical calculations are presented for small scale beam breakup due to non-linear self-focusing in Cyclops, a high power Nd-glass laser amplifier. Both perturbed plane wave and nonlinear whole beam calculations were carried out. The whole beam calculations were carried out using a dust particle model of beam perturbations.     

Comprehensive heat exchange model for a semiconductor laser diode

By measuring the total energy flow from an optical device, we can develop new design strategies for thermal stabilization. Here we present a comprehensive model for heat exchange between a semiconductor laser diode and its environment that includes the mechanisms of conduction, convection, and radiation. We perform quantitative measurements of these processes for several devices, deriving parameters such as a laser's heat transfer coefficient, and then demonstrate the feasibility of thermal probing for the nondestructive wafer-scale characterization of optical devices.