Diode-pumped, high-average-power femtosecond Cr3+ :LiCAF laser

We demonstrate a high-average-power continuous wave (cw) and cw mode-locked Cr3+ :LiCAF laser pumped by broad-area laser diodes. In cw lasing experiments, up to 580 mW of output was obtained with 4.35 W of incident pump. A semiconductor saturable absorber mirror was used to initiate stable, self-starting, mode locking. In the cw mode-locked regime, the Cr3+ :LiCAF laser produced nearly transform-limited, 67 fs long pulses near 800 nm with an average output power of 300 mW. The pulse repetition rate was 120 MHz, with a pulse energy of 2.5 nJ.     

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.     

声光可调谐环形腔掺铒光纤激光器

应用单级偏振无关的准共线型声光可调谐滤波器为调谐元件,实现了环形腔掺铒光纤激光器的连续可调谐激光输出.简要阐述了与偏振无关的准共线型声光可调谐滤波器的工作原理,对其频移补偿原理进行了分析.实验研究得到:当抽运功率为13mW时,中心波长为1550nm的激光输出功率为322μW,阈值抽运功率在7.65mW左右,斜率效率约为6.02%;并获得了38nm带宽(1524.7—1562.4nm)的连续可调谐激光输出.     

Low-cost low-threshold diode end-pumped Tm:YAG laser at 2.016?μm

We report a low-threshold continuous-wave Tm:YAG laser that can be excited near 785?nm with low-cost, single-mode AlGaAs laser diodes. Low-threshold operation was achieved using a tightly focused, astigmatically compensated x-cavity containing a 2-mm-thick Tm:YAG crystal with 5?% Tm³⁺ concentration. Two linearly polarized single-mode diodes operating at 785.8?nm were polarization coupled to end pump the resonator. With a 6?% output coupler, as high as 32?mW of output power could be obtained at 2016?nm with 184?mW of incident pump power. The output could be further tuned in the 1935?C2035?nm range. Slope efficiency measurements indicated that cross-relaxation was very effective at this doping level. With a 2?% output coupler, lasing could be obtained with as low as 32.3?mW of pump power. In the limit of vanishing output coupling, the incident threshold pump power could be reduced to as low as 25?mW. To our knowledge, this is among the lowest lasing thresholds reported to date for continuous-wave, room-temperature thulium lasers.     

Monochromatization of semiconductor laser diodes using one-dimensional photonic crystals

The results on the development of the single-frequency semiconductor laser with external cavity based on a fiber Bragg grating (one-dimensional photonic crystal) formed in a single-mode fiber waveguide are presented. Stable single-frequency lasing at a wavelength of 977 nm with a spectral half width of 0.2 nm is achieved with a laser power output of 350 mW. The temperature dependence of lasing parameters is studied.     

High-quality lowest-loss-mode lasing in GaAs quasi-stadium laser diodes having unstable resonators

We obtained high-quality lowest-loss-mode lasing in quasi-stadium laser diodes having unstable resonators that consisted of two curved end mirrors and two straight sidewall mirrors. The laser diodes were fabricated by applying a reactive ion etching technique to a metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition-grown graded-index separate-confinement heterostructure single-quantum-well GaAs/AlGaAs structure. The electrode contact area of the laser diodes was formed along unstable periodic orbits, along which the optical beams are localized. Highly directional fan-out beams corresponding to the numerically obtained lowest loss mode were emitted from the end mirrors under CW operation at room temperature.     

Injection laser sources for fiber optic communications

This paper describes some of the laser designs and GaAs and GaAlAs epitaxial and wafer-processing technology currently used in the fabrication of laser diodes intended for incorporation into fiber optic communication or data link systems. Two classes of laser diodes are described: cw laser diodes emitting up to 75 mW and devices emitting in excess of 200 mW peak pulsed power at 27°C at duty cycles up to 10%. The fabrication and assembly of these devices is presented in detail, and the problems encountered in the transfer of these processes from a research environment to a manufacturing operation are discussed. Data are presented showing laser-emitted power, both pulsed and continuous, the angular distribution of emitted power, emission wavelength and bandwidth, optical coupling efficiency to various fibers, and laser lifetimes. In addition, the interaction between laser threshold current density, thermal impedance, emitted beam distribution, and fiber optic coupling is described. Several fiber optic laser coupling schemes are described. Finally, the results of testing pulsed laser diodes to see if they meet military environmental and performance test requirements are described with specific data presented showing the value of burn-in testing to eliminate lasers that exhibit abnormally short lifetimes from test lots.     

Injection laser sources for fiber optic communications

Abstract

This paper describes some of the laser designs and GaAs and GaAlAs epitaxial and wafer-processing technology currently used in the fabrication of laser diodes intended for incorporation into fiber optic communication or data link systems. Two classes of laser diodes are described: cw laser diodes emitting up to 75 mW and devices emitting in excess of 200 mW peak pulsed power at 27°C at duty cycles up to 10%. The fabrication and assembly of these devices is presented in detail, and the problems encountered in the transfer of these processes from a research environment to a manufacturing operation are discussed. Data are presented showing laser-emitted power, both pulsed and continuous, the angular distribution of emitted power, emission wavelength and bandwidth, optical coupling efficiency to various fibers, and laser lifetimes. In addition, the interaction between laser threshold current density, thermal impedance, emitted beam distribution, and fiber optic coupling is described. Several fiber optic laser coupling schemes are described. Finally, the results of testing pulsed laser diodes to see if they meet military environmental and performance test requirements are described with specific data presented showing the value of burn-in testing to eliminate lasers that exhibit abnormally short lifetimes from test lots.     

2.5THz量子级联激光器的研制

基于束缚态到连续态跃迁有源区能带结构,实现了2.5THz量子级联激光器的连续波工作。激光器的输出频率随电流可在2.45~2.47THz之间可调,在连续波工作模式下的最高输出功率大于6.0mW,最高连续波工作温度为60K,阈值电流密度为120A/cm2,经Si透镜整形后的输出光斑为高斯分布。     

Pump slope-improved fiber-ring laser by recycling the residual pumping power

We investigate an improvement in the pump slope efficiency for an erbium-doped fiber-ring laser. The method is based on the residual pump power reused by means of a fiber mirror. Under the conditions of a 4-m erbium-doped fiber (EDF), 10 mW of pump power, and a 99% reflectivity of a fiber-Bragg grating, the pump slope efficiency may reach 19.70% compared to 15.37% for a conventional fiber-ring laser. The maximum lasing power is increased from 14.6 to 18.7 mW corresponding to a 1.07-dB lasing power enhancement. The side-mode suppression ratio is as high as 67.6 dB with a line width of less than 0.05 nm.     

High-power laser diodes of the spectral region of 808 nm and 980 nm

A technique for assembling high-power laser diodes emitting at 808 and 980 nm was developed, which stably provides high radiation parameters when using one of the standard types of heat sinks for assembling high-power laser diodes, i.e., the C-mount. The maximum achievable power of laser diodes with a stripe contact width of 150 µm in the cw lasing mode was 25 W at a temperature of 20 °C.     

870 mW blue laser emission at 480 nm in a large core thulium doped ZBLAN fiber laser

We report on high power 870 mW continuous wave stable laser operation at 480 nm in a 1000 ppm wt. Thulium doped multimode ZBLAN up-conversion fiber laser. The fiber is pumped by a wavelength of 1064 nm generated from diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser. A threshold of 550 mW and slope efficiency of 14% with respect to the incident pump power has been obtained. The related problem of photo-degradation associated with formation of color centers is reported. The transparency of the darkened fiber prior to the lasing operation is restored by circulating 514 nm through the fiber core. The time dependant oscillatory behavior of the emitted laser is also addressed.     

Widely tunable Raman ring laser using highly nonlinear fiber

An all-optical widely tunable Raman fiber laser has been realized by incorporating a highly nonlinear fiber in a ring cavity. By feedback a portion of Raman Stokes wave back into the highly nonlinear gain medium, a Raman fiber laser is generated. We found that the lasing wavelength of Raman fiber laser can be tuned from 1537 to 1568 nm with peak power fluctuation within 1 dB, giving a total wavelength tunability of 31 nm. The optical signal-to-noise ratio is found to be wavelength dependent, and the highest optical signal-to-noise ratio of about 59 dB is recorded. The lasing threshold of the Raman fiber laser with this configuration is found to be as low as 300 mW.     

Single-frequency thulium-doped distributed-feedback fiber laser

We have successfully demonstrated a single-frequency distributed-feedback (DFB) thulium-doped silica fiber laser emitting at a wavelength of 1735 nm. The laser cavity is less than 5 cm long and is formed by intracore UV-written Bragg gratings with a phase shift. The laser is pumped at 790 nm from a Ti:sapphire laser and has a threshold pump power of 59 mW. The laser has a maximum output power of 1 mW in a single-frequency, single-polarization radiation mode and is tunable over a few nanometers. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a single-frequency DFB fiber laser that uses thulium as the amplifying medium. The lasing wavelength is the longest demonstrated with DFB fiber lasers and yet is among the shortest obtained for thulium-doped silica fiber lasers.     

Single polarization, single transverse mode, and widely tunable narrow-linewidth laser from a multimode vertical cavity surface-emitting laser by use of a coupled cavity

A simple method for achieving a widely tunable narrow-linewidth, single polarization state and single transverse mode lasing oscillation from a commercially available multimode vertical cavity surface-emitting laser by use of a coupled cavity is reported. The laser has a wavelength tuning range of more than 5 nm along 850 nm, a side-mode suppression ratio of approximately 15 dB, and an output power of approximately 0.3 mW from a 50-microm multimode optical fiber at a bias current of 15 mA. The laser was operated in a single state of polarization lasing oscillation without any polarization switching.     

Pressure sensing utilizing linear cavity erbium-doped fiber laser

In this paper, we report a fiber laser pressure sensor based on linear cavity erbium-doped fiber laser. The fiber laser structure comprises of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier, a circulator, an optical coupler and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) which acts simultaneously as a lasing wavelength selecting components as well as a pressure sensor. The FBG is fitted to the shock tube where the pressure is applied. The fiber laser pressure sensor has a low threshold power of 7 mW, an output power of 2.28 mW and an optical signal to noise ratio over 55 dB. The proposed fiber laser sensor is expected to be an attractive choice for long-distance pressure monitoring.     

Metal-clad ridge waveguide structure InGaP/InGaAIP visible laser diodes

InGaP/InGaAIP visible-light laser diodes with a metal-clad ridge waveguide structure have been fabricated. Compressively strained SCH-MQW structures were grown by low-pressure MOCVD and the lasing wavelength was 690 nm. The threshold current was 28 mA at 25°C for a 400 m cavity and 5 m stripe width. CW operation was obtained as the cleaved device by employing thick gold layer as a heat spreader. The light-output power versus CW current was linear up to a maximum light output power of 38 mW. Stable operation of the fundamental transverse optical mode was maintained up to 30 mW. These results show that this metal-clad ridge waveguide structure provides sufficient current confinement even under high light output power operation.     

Directivity influence of signals propagation through EDFA gain medium of Brillouin-erbium fiber laser

We experimentally demonstrate a multiwavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser in two configurations; uni-directional and bi-directional propagation of Brillouin pump and Brillouin Stokes signals through an Erbium-doped fiber gain. The influence of these configurations on the performance of the output parameters in terms of lasing threshold, output channel generation and tuning range of the generated output channels are investigated. We discovered that there is a trade-off between these two fiber laser configurations. The uni-directional amplifier configuration provides greater tuning range of 46.8 nm against 23 nm at maximum Brillouin pump power of 2 mW and 1480-nm pump power of 130 mW. On the other hand, the bi-directional amplifier configuration provides 13 output channels against 6 output channels obtained from the uni-directional amplifier configuration at the same pumping powers. Nevertheless, the bi-directional amplifier configuration requires much lower pump power to initiate lasing.     

Diode-pumped single-frequency Tm:YAG laser with double etalons

A diode end-pumped single-frequency Tm:YAG laser at room temperature is reported. The maximal output power of single-frequency is as high as 60 mW by using two uncoated fused YAG etalons, which are respectively 0.1 and 1.0 mm thick. We obtained a single frequency Tm:YAG laser at 2013.91 nm. The change of the lasing wavelength on temperature was also measured. The single-longitudinal-mode laser can be used as a seed laser for coherent wind measurements and differential absorption LIDAR systems.     

Investigation of cw injection laser with external dispersive cavity

Tunable single-frequency lasing with output power up to 9 mW was achieved in an injection laser with an external dispersive cavity. The bistable lasing mode was investigated theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that its presence is due to the laser-diode active-region optical nonlinearity. Investigation of equal-frequency fluctuation spectra of the output power has shown that only modes with differing transverse structures can be excited simultaneously. Suppression of weak modes by the field of a strong mode was observed. This increases the stability of the single-frequency lasing as the laser output power is increased.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva, Vol. 141, pp. 62–88, 1983.