A tunnel regenerated coupled multi-active-region large optical cavity laser with a high quality beam

A novel coupled multi-active-region large optical cavity structure cascaded by a tunnel junction is proposed to solve the problems of facet catastrophic optical damage (COD) and the large vertical divergence caused by the thin emitting area in conventional laser diodes. For a laser with three active regions, a slope efficiency as high as 1.49 W/A, a vertical divergence angle of 17.4 , and a threshold current density of 271 A/cm 2 are achieved. By optimizing the structural parameters, the beam quality is greatly improved, and the level of the COD power increases by more than two times compared with that of the conventional laser.     

大光腔小垂直发散角InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs半导体激光器

提出并实现了新型隧道再生耦合大光腔半导体激光器，近场光斑宽度达到1μm，较普通半导体激光器提高了一个数量级，有效地解决了普通半导体激光器由于发光面积狭窄而导致的端面灾变性毁坏和垂直发散角大的问题. 采用低压金属有机物化学气相沉积方法生长了以C和Si分别作为掺杂剂的AlGaAs隧道结、GaAs/InGaAs应变量子阱有源区和新型半导体激光器外延结构，并制备出器件，其垂直发散角为20°，阈值电流密度为277A/cm2，斜率效率在未镀膜时达到0.80W/A. 关键词： 半导体激光器 大光腔 隧道再生     

布拉格反射波导半导体激光器的研究

高功率半导体激光器在固体或光纤激光器泵浦、材料加工、医疗、传感、空间通讯和国防上有着极其重要的应用,但传统半导体激光器面临垂直发散角大、椭圆光斑的难题,限制了其直接应用。为了降低激光器的垂直发散角,本项目采用布拉格反射波导结构,利用光子带隙导引替代传统的全反射进行光场限制,优化设计了多种布拉格反射波导激光器结构,并制备了高性能的激光器器件。首先,采用传输矩阵理论和布洛赫波近似的方法计算了布拉格反射波导的模式色散关系,发现通过控制腔模光场分布,可实现不同远场的激光输出。接着,针对布拉格波导光子带隙导引机制,深入研究了四分之一波长布拉格反射波导激光器、单边布拉格反射波导激光器的光场特性,弄清了影响此类激光器远场的本质因素,最终设计并验证了一种布拉格反射波导双光束激光器,激光器在垂直方向可输出两个对称的、近圆形光束,单光束垂直和侧向发散角半高全宽分别低至7.2°和5.4°。另外,通过调控光缺陷层,使激光器工作在受抑隧穿光子带隙导引机制下,实现了超窄的单光束激光输出,激光器单管连续输出功率超过4.6 W,垂直发散角最低降至4.9°(半高全宽)和9.8°(95%功率)。这种高功率、窄的圆形光束输出可以大幅降低半导体激光器的应用成本,提高泵浦或光纤耦合效率,具有广阔的应用前景。     

Theoretical analyses on improved beam properties of GaSb-based 2.X-μm quantum-well diode lasers with no degradation in laser parameters

An asymmetric laser heterostructure is developed to improve the beam properties of GaSb-based diode lasers with no degradation in laser parameters.Employing the semivectorial finite difference method,the dependences of beam divergence and optical confinement factor on waveguide width and refractive index step are investigated theoretically.After carefully design,a particular asymmetric laser structure is proposed.Its beam divergence in the fast axis is reduced from 61° to 34° compared with that of the broad-waveguide structure.The optical confinement factor is approximately equal to 0.0362 and comparable to that of the conventional broad-waveguide structure.     

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.     

A Novel Kind of Transverse Micro-Stack High-Power Diode Bars

Novel transverse micro-stack semiconductor laser bars are put forward to improve the output optical power of semiconductor laser bars at low injection current. More importantly, the novel laser bars have a coupled large optical cavity, which can overcome the problem of catastrophic optical damage and improve light beam quality due to the coherently coupled emitting along the transverse direction. The micro-stack tunnel regeneration tri-active region laser structure was grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. For a weakly coupled uncoated device, the optical power exceeds 60 W under 50 A driving current and the slope efficiency reaches 1.55 W/A. Further experiments show that the perpendicular divergence of 23° is achieved from transverse strongly coupled devices.     

Effect of focusing geometry on the continuous optical discharge properties

We studied the effect of the laser beam focusing geometry on the continuous optical discharge (COD) properties. We used a full two-dimensional radiative gas-dynamic model for the COD, maintained by a vertical CO₂ laser beam in free air atmosphere, in the Earth's gravitational field. The model takes into account all of the factors that are of importance in laser-sustained plasma processes, and uses realistic quasi optics to describe the laser radiation propagation. Results are presented for the optical discharge parameters as functions of applied laser power and degree (f-number) to which the laser beam is focused.     

Two-dimensional field analysis of semiconductor lasers with small vertical beam divergence

Two-dimensional (2D) optical field distribution and the far-field patterns are analyzed for semiconductor lasers with small vertical beam divergence. The discrete spectral index method is used for the analysis and compared with other methods such as the effective index method. The discrete spectral index method is found to be much better in terms of accuracy and computation efficiency for the laser structures studied. Two laser structures with experimental counterparts are studied. The best beam aspect ratio ( <1.5) is achieved using the conventional ridge waveguide process. The calculated results compare very favorably with the experimental results. Simulations also reveal the guidelines for design of symmetric optical beam.     

Large spot size and low-divergence angle operation of 917-nm edge-emitting semiconductor laser with an asymmetric waveguide structure

GaInAs/AlGaAs comprehensive-strained three-quantum-well lasers with asymmetric waveguide are designed and optimized. With this design, the optical field in the transverse direction is extended, and a semiconductor laser with large spot is obtained. For a 300-μm cavity length and 100-μm aperture device under continuous wave (CW) operation, the measured vertical and horizontal far-field divergence angles are 12.2° and 3.0°, respectively. The slope efficiency is 0.44 W/A and the lasing wavelength is 917 nm.The equivalent transverse spot size is 3 μm for the fundamental transverse mode, which is a sufficiently large value for the purpose of coupling and manipulation of light.     

激光引信中半导体激光器的准直及其测试

在理论上分析了单级单透镜光学系统对激光高斯光束发散角的影响。用单个平凸透镜对激光引信中的半导体激光器进行了准直，达到了激光引信光束准直的要求。通过CCD成像方法对准直后的光束发散角进行了测量，利用二阶矩算法计算出光束发散角。实验测得2个方向的发散角分别为θx=7.03°和θy=0.69°，验证了准直系统达到激光引信要求的θx＜10°和θy＜1°技术指标。     

Semiconductor lasers with unconventional cladding structures for small beam divergence and low threshold current

Quantum well semiconductor lasers with a novel cladding design to achieve small output beam divergence and low threshold current, simultaneously are discussed. Cladding structures that cause expansion in the optical mode, while maintaining a good confinement factor, are reviewed. The design criteria and compromises are discussed in detail. The new structures offer much improved beam divergence along with low threshold current compared with conventional graded-index separate confinement heterostructure (GRINSCH) lasers. An optimized structure with the new cladding design can yield a far-field angle as low as 14.6° and a low threshold current density of 180 A cm^-2.     

980nm半导体激光器n型波导结构优化

为了提高980nm半导体激光器的输出功率并获得较小的远场发散角,在非对称波导结构的基础上设计了n型波导结构,即在n型波导中引入高折射率的内波导层。采用理论计算和SimLastip软件模拟对常规非对称波导结构和内波导结构进行了研究。利用分子束外延系统生长980nm内波导结构的外延材料,并制作了激光器。对于条宽为100μm、腔长为1000μm的器件,阈值电流为97mA,斜率效率为1.01W/A;当注入电流为500mA时,远场发散角为29°(垂直向)×8°(水平向),与模拟结果相符。理论计算和实验结果表明:较之于常规非对称波导结构,内波导结构可有效降低光场限制因子,提高输出功率,减小远场发散角。     

Fabrication and transmission experiments of distributed feedback laser modules for 2.5 Gb s-1 optical transmission systems

A distributed feedback (DFB) laser module has been developed for 2.5 Gbs^-1 optical transmission systems. The DFB laser has a multiple-quantum-well (MQW) active layer and a planar buried heterostructure (PBH) for a low threshold current and stable singlemode operation with low chirping. A PBH DFB laser module with a single-mode fibre pigtail and an optical isolator was designed and fabricated by employing a single lens and a laser welding method. The fabricated MQW PBH DFB laser module is shown to be a suitable light source for 2.5 Gb s^-1 optical transmission systems with a minimum received power of-33 dBm after 47 km conventional optical fibre transmission.     

Fabrication of helical long-period fiber gratings by use of a CO2 laser

We present a method of helical long-period fiber grating (H-LPFG) fabrication by use of a CO2 laser for use as an optical torque sensor. A conventional optical fiber grating has periodic vertical index changes along its fiber axis, but a H-LPFG has a screw-type index modulation. The helical index modulation is obtained with the asymmetric index change caused by a single-side laser beam exposure. The H-LPFG shows peak shifts with codirectional or contradirectional torsion to the helix. Also, the polarization-dependent loss is measured to be relatively small compared with that of a conventional long-period fiber grating.     

Vertical-to-surface transmission electrophotonic device with a pnpn structure and vertical cavity

Surface emitting laser operation and optical switching operation are demonstrated in vertical-to-surface transmission electrophotonic devices using pnpn structures and vertical cavities. Threshold current density as low as 1.4 kA cm^–2 for laser operation and optical switching energy as low as 2.2 pJ for optical switching operation are achieved. It is found that optical switching energy can be lowered by multireflections in the vertical cavity. Growth rate calibration and series resistance in the distributed Bragg reflector mirrors are examined for device fabrication.     

基于飞秒光频梳的双频He-Ne激光器频率测量

利用光纤飞秒光频梳和外腔可调谐半导体激光器, 建立了一套双频He-Ne激光器频率测量系统. 选用铷钟作为系统的频率基准, 通过将外腔半导体激光锁定至光频梳使得其频率溯源至铷钟, 再利用外腔可调谐半导体激光与双频He-Ne激光器输出的正交偏振激光拍频, 同时测量两路正交偏振激光频率. 将可调谐半导体激光器锁定至光频梳第1894449个梳齿, 其绝对频率为473612190000.0±2.7 kHz, 相对不确定度为5.7×10^-12. 对商品双频He-Ne激光器进行频率测量实验, 双频He-Ne激光器水平方向偏振激光频率均值为473612229934 kHz, 竖直方向偏振激光频率均值为473612232111 kHz, 平均时间为1024 s的相对Allan标准差为5.2×10^-11, 频差均值为2.177 MHz, 标准偏差为2 kHz.     

An experimental study and theoretical analysis of the mode characteristics of a narrow line-width,pulsed dye laser oscillator at different pump powers

This paper presents an experimental study and theoretical analysis on the effect of pump power on the divergence, pointing, line-width and wavelength stability of a narrow line-width, high repetition rate dye laser oscillator. The dye laser oscillator, based on the hybrid multiple-prism grazing-incidence grating cavity, was pumped by copper vapor laser (CVL). The dye laser mode characteristics were studied at CVL average pump powers of 2, 4 and 8 W. The single pulse dye laser divergence/pointing stability was studied by far-field intensity distributions. The line-width and wavelength stability were studied using a high resolution wave-meter. The experimental results were theoretically analyzed in terms of dye laser mode structure drift induced by beam pointing instability, beam divergence and thermally induced optical path length fluctuation. A comprehensive theoretical treatment on pointing stability of dye laser beam and its influence in the dye laser wavelength stability is presented. The theoretical and experimental trends were found to be in good agreement.     

Active region design of a terahertz GaN/ Al0.15Ga0.85N quantum cascade laser

We propose the idea of developing THz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) with GaN-based quantum well (QW) structures with significant advantages over the currently demonstrated THz lasers in the GaAs-based material system. While the ultrafast longitudinal optical (LO) phonon scattering in AlGaN/GaN QWs can be used for the rapid depopulation of the lower laser state, the large LO-phonon energy (∼90 meV) can effectively reduce the thermal population of the lasing states at higher temperatures. Our analysis of one particular structure has shown that a relatively low threshold current density of 832 A/cm² can provide a threshold optical gain of 50/cm at room temperature. We have also found that the characteristic temperature in this structure is as high as 136 K.     

Thin layer dye laser amplifier

A simple method to amplify laser radiation is proposed: the divergence is nearly diffraction limited and the intensity distribution profile is gaussian (independent of the spatial parameters of the input signal). The amplification of the laser radiation is achieved using the quasi-waveguide laser of a solution of rhodamin 6G with a concentration of 10^-2 mol/$\text{l}$. A hundred fold intensity amplification with a divergence of 6 × 10^-4 rad is achieved, the latter being only 1.4 times more than the diffraction limited divergence of the system.     

Designing novel chalcone single crystals with ultrafast nonlinear optical responses and large multi-photon absorption coefficients

A chalcone single crystal, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one that is transparent over the visible to infrared region is introduced as a new potential material to third-order nonlinear optical applications. The crystal exhibits ultrafast optical response (≤90 fs) and large optical nonlinearity in the wavelength range 800–1200 nm. A very large effective two-photon absorption coefficient β_eff exceeding 120 cm/GW can be obtained with this chalcone crystal, at a low intensity threshold of 41 MW/cm². The mechanism of nonlinear absorption at different levels of intensity has been discussed. The crystal shows no damage against the laser pulse intensity as high as 8 GW/cm². We discuss the molecular and crystal designing of chalcones with large and ultrafast optical nonlinearity combined with low optical cut-off (<450 nm).